Tashl Hit TEXTBOOK

Moroccan talHit
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
Learning talit.......................................................................................................................................... 1
Transcription of talit .............................................................................................................................. 1
Getting Started with talit .............................................................................................. 5
Greetings ....................................................................................................................................................5
Independent Pronouns ..............................................................................................................................7
Possessive Pronouns ................................................................................................................................. 8
Masculine and Feminine Nouns................................................................................................................9
Constructed and Isolated Nouns .............................................................................................................10
Describing Yourself ....................................................................................................... 12
Nationalities, Cities, and Marital Status ................................................................................................. 12
The Verbs to be ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Demonstrative Pronouns, Adjectives & Indefinite Pronouns ................................................................ 17
The Possessive Word win/tin (/).................................................................................................... 19
Useful Expressions ........................................................................................................ 22
Numerals ....................................................................................................................... 25
Why Arabic Numbers?.............................................................................................................................25
Cardinal Numbers....................................................................................................................................25
Ordinal Numbers / Fractions ................................................................................................................. 30
Time.......................................................................................................................................................... 31
Getting Started Shopping............................................................................................... 34
Money...................................................................................................................................................... 34
At the taanut ()..............................................................................................................................35
There is/are .......................................................................................................................................... 36
Verb to want ......................................................................................................................................... 38
Family............................................................................................................................ 38
Family Members ..................................................................................................................................... 39
The verb to have dar ( )in the present tense: .................................................................................. 42
Directions ...................................................................................................................... 43
Prepositions ............................................................................................................................................ 43
Directions .................................................................................................................................................45
Past Events .................................................................................................................... 47
Time Vocabulary ......................................................................................................................................47
Past Tense Regular Pattern 1 Verbs .................................................................................................... 49
Past Tense Irregular Pattern 1 Verbs .................................................................................................. 50
Past Tense Irregular Pattern 2 Verbs...................................................................................................53
Negation ...................................................................................................................................................56
Have you ever... / Ive never... ................................................................................................................ 58
Place Adverbs d ( )and n ( )...................................................................................................................59
Object Pronouns ...................................................................................................................................... 61
Question Words ...................................................................................................................................... 63
Daily Routines ............................................................................................................... 65
Present Tense Regular Verbs ...............................................................................................................65
Using One Verb after Another ................................................................................................................ 69
The Imperative........................................................................................................................................ 70
Bargaining ..................................................................................................................... 72
Bargaining ................................................................................................................................................72
Clothing ....................................................................................................................................................74
Adjectives .................................................................................................................................................79
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives ................................................................................................81
Shopping For Food ........................................................................................................ 85
Fruits and Vegetables ............................................................................................................................. 85
Buying Produce ....................................................................................................................................... 86
Spices and Meat ...................................................................................................................................... 89
Food and Drink..............................................................................................................90

Food and Drink .......................................................................................................................................90
The Reflexive verb to please / to like................................................................................................... 92
The Verb to need, to have to, must, should......................................................................................... 96
The Verb to want, to like ...................................................................................................................... 98
Medical & Body .............................................................................................................. 99
Body Parts................................................................................................................................................ 99
Health Problems...................................................................................................................................... 99
Site Visit Expressions .................................................................................................. 102
Travel .......................................................................................................................... 103
Future Tense.......................................................................................................................................... 103
Travel ..................................................................................................................................................... 106
At the Hotel.................................................................................................................. 109
Hotel Accommodation .......................................................................................................................... 109
The Conditional...................................................................................................................................... 111
At the Post Office .......................................................................................................... 113
The Post Office ....................................................................................................................................... 113
Using Prepositions with Pronoun Endings & Verbs ............................................................................. 114
Describing the Peace Corps Mission .............................................................................118
Peace Corps ............................................................................................................................................ 119
Environment.......................................................................................................................................... 120
Health ..................................................................................................................................................... 121
Small Business Development................................................................................................................. 121
Renting a House........................................................................................................... 123
Finding a House .....................................................................................................................................123
Furnishing a House ................................................................................................................................125
Safety and Security ...................................................................................................... 126
Sexual Harassment................................................................................................................................ 126
At the Taxi Stand ................................................................................................................................... 128
At Work.................................................................................................................................................. 129
Forgetting a Wallet in a Taxi / Filling a Report .................................................................................... 131
Butagas ...................................................................................................................................................132
Hash........................................................................................................................................................134
Theft........................................................................................................................................................135
House Security / Doors and Windows ..................................................................................................137
Political Harassment ............................................................................................................................. 138
Appendices ................................................................................................................... 141
Pronunciation of talit ............................................................................................... 144
Understanding How Sounds Are Made................................................................................................ 144
Pronunciation of Non-English Consonants ......................................................................................... 144
Pronunciation of Shedda....................................................................................................................... 146
The Definite Article ............................................................................................................................... 146
The talit Alphabet: tifina......................................................................................... 148
Supplementary Grammar Lessons............................................................................... 150
talit Numbers..................................................................................................................................... 150
Making Intransitive Verbs into Transitive Verbs.................................................................................. 151
Passive Verbs ..........................................................................................................................................153
The Verb used to .................................................................................................................................154
Verb Participles ......................................................................................................................................155
Relative pronouns ..................................................................................................................................157
Conjunctions.......................................................................................................................................... 158
More Useful Expressions .............................................................................................. 161
Moroccan Holidays ...................................................................................................... 163
Religious Holidays..................................................................................................................................163
National Holidays...................................................................................................................................165
Glossary of Verbs ..........................................................................................................167
Peace Corps / Morocco 3

Grammar Index ........................................................................................................... 185
Vocabulary Index......................................................................................................... 186
Introduction
Learning talit
Even under the best conditions, learning a new language can be challenging. Add to this challenge the
rigors of Peace Corps training, and youre faced with what will be one of the most demandingand
rewardingaspects of your Peace Corps experience: learning to communicate to Moroccans in their
own language. But it can be done. And rest assured that you can do it. Here are a few reasons why:
You are immersed in the language: Some people may need to hear a word three times to
remember it; others may need thirty. Learning talit while living and training with Moroccans
gives you the chance to hear the language used again and again.
You have daily language classes with Moroccan teachers: Youre not only immersed in
the language; you also have the opportunity to receive feedback from native speakers on the
many questions that predictably crop up when one learns a new language.
Peace Corps has over forty years of experience in Morocco: Your training, including
this manual, benefits from the collective experience gained by training thousands of Americans
to live and work in Morocco. You will benefit from and contribute to that legacy.
Despite these advantages, at times you may still feel like the task of learning talit is too much to
handle. Remember that volunteers like you having been doing it for decades, however. One of the
most rewarding aspects of your time will be communicating with Moroccans in talit, surprising them
and yourself with how well you know the language. When that time arrives, your hard work will have
been worth it.
Transcription of talit
In order for trainees to move quickly into talit, Peace Corps uses a system of transcription that
substitutes characters of the Latin alphabet (a, b, c, d, . . . ) for characters from Arabic script (
. . .). With this system, it isnt necessary for a trainee to learn all of Arabic script before he or she begins
to learn the language. On the contrary, once you become familiar with the system of transcription, you
will be able to read and write talit fairly quicklyusing characters you are familiar with. You will
also learn Arabic script during training, but with transcription it isnt necessary to know it right away.
Throughout the book, therefore, you will always see both the Arabic script and the transcription.
Becoming familiar with the Peace Corps system of transcription is one of the best things
you can do, early on, to help yourself learn talit. Practicing the different sounds of
talit until you can reproduce them is another. This introduction is intended mainly to help
you get started with the system of transcription, and as a result it will mention only briefly the different
sounds of talit. However, a fuller explanation can be found on page 144.
Sounds You Already Know

The large majority of consonants in talit are similar to sounds that you have in English. The vowels
in talit are also similar to English vowels. In the following table, each transcription character that
represents a sound you already know will be explained. The sounds are not necessarily what
you may expect, but each character was matched with a sound for good reasons.
Transcription
Character
Arabic
Character
/ / _ /
the normal English sound /b/
the normal English sound /d/
_ /
Description
sometimes the // in father, sometimes the /a/ in mad
the short e sound /e/ as in met (this transcription character is not used
often, only when confusion would be caused by using the transcription character a)
the normal English sound /f/
2 talit
g
the normal English sound /g/ as in go
the normal English sound /h/ as in hi.
_ /
the /zh/ sound represented by the s in pleasure
the normal English sound /k/
the normal English sound /l/
the normal English sound /m/
the normal English sound /n/
the long o sound // as in bone (this transcription character is not used
the normal English sound /p/
this is not the normal English r, but a flap similar to the Spanish
r or to the sound Americans make when they quickly say gotta
as in I gotta go.
the normal English sound /s/
the normal English sound /t/
the long oo sound // as in food
the normal English sound /v/
the normal English sound /w/
the normal English sound /y/
the normal English sound /z/
the normal English sound /sh/ as in she
the long ee sound // as in meet
often, mainly for French words that have entered talit)
Some vowel combinations

ay
the ay as in say
au
the ow as in cow
iu
the ee you as in see you later
New Sounds
There are eight consonants in talit that you do not have in English. It may take you some time to be
able to pronounce these correctly. At this point, whats important is that you learn the transcription
character for each of these sounds. See page 144 for more information on how to pronounce the sounds
in talit.
Transcription
Character
Arabic
Character
the talit emphatic d
the talit emphatic s
the talit emphatic t
like the English /k/ but pronounced further back in the throat
like the ch in the German Bach; some people use this sound to
Sound
These sounds are pronounced like their
non-emphatic counterparts, but with a
lower pitch and a greater tension in the
tongue and throat.

say yech!
like the x sound above, but pronounced using your voice box;
similar to the French r
like the English h, except pronounce deep in the throat as a loud

raspy whisper.
This sound will be difficult at first. It can be approximated by

pronouncing the a in fat with the tongue against the bottom of the
mouth and from as deep in the throat as possible
Shedda
If you see a transcription character doubled, that means that a shedda is over that character in
the Arabic script. For example, in the following table, you will see how the transcription changes for
shedda, and thus the pronunciation.
English
Translation
Transcription
to drink
su
to water
ssu
Arabic
Script
This small character,

which looks like a w,
is the shedda. That is
why the transcription
has a doubled s.
Notice that these two verbs are spelled differently in the transcription. The verb to drink does not
have a shedda on the s in Arabic script, and that is why there is only one s in the transcription. The
verb to water does have a shedda in the Arabic script, and that is why the transcription doubles the
letter s. These two verbs are pronounced differently, so you must pay attention to
doubled letters in transcription. To learn more about how we pronounce the shedda in TaelHit,
see page 146. For now, whats important is that you understand the transcription.
Other Symbols
Sometimes, you will see a hyphen used in the transcription:
It indicates the definite article: For some letters, the definite article (the word the) is made
by adding the letter l. For others, it is made by doubling the first letter. In both cases, a hyphen
will be used to indicate to you that the word has the definite article in front of it. See page 146 for
more info on the definite article.
In these instances, the hyphen does not necessarily indicate a change in pronunciation. The
hyphen is there to make it easy for you to see when a definite article is being used, for example. It is a
visual indicator, not an indicator of pronunciation. Sometimes the rhythm of speech may seem to
break with the hyphen; other times the letters before and after the hyphen will be pronounced together.
Another symbol you will sometimes see is the apostrophe ( ' ). When you see an apostrophe, it
indicates a glottal stop, which is the break between vowels as heard in the English exclamation uh
oh. That is to say, if you see an apostrophe you should not connect the sounds before the apostrophe
with the sounds after the apostrophe. Pronounce them with a break in the middle.
Words & Syllables Without Vowels

Sometimes you will see syllables or even whole words without any vowels written in them. This is
normal in talit. To the English speaker, however, this seems impossible, since we have always been
taught that all words must contain a vowel sound. Which side is correct? Well, in a sense they both
are. In reality, it is indeed possible to pronounce consonants together without articulating a vowel
sound; you do it a lot in English at the beginning of words. Think about the word street. You
pronounce three consonantss, t, and rwithout any vowels between them. So it is possible. The only
4 talit
challenge with talit is that the consonant combinations are new for English speakers (you dont put
the /sh/ sound next to the /m/ sound, for example, but in talit we do).
However, try for a moment to pronounce only the letters str, not the whole word street. In this
case, most English speakers will hear something that sounds like the word stir. With certain
consonant combinations, that is to say, it sounds to the English speaker like there is a vowel in the
middle, even if there isnt. The vowel is in reality just the normal sound made as one consonant
sound transitions to another.
Part of learning talit is becoming comfortable with new consonant combinations and practicing
those combinations without necessarily placing a vowel in the middle. The transcription words, you
will notice, only include characters for vowels when there really is a vowel in the word. It may seem
difficult at first, but it is better to accustom yourself to this as early as you can.
Why Not Just Write sh?

A final point about the transcription. At times it may seem overly complicated to someone beginning
talit. For example, why doesnt it just use sh for the /sh/ sound? The answer is this: every sound
must have just a single character to represent it. Why? Well, in talit it is normal for the /h/ sound to
follow the /s/ sound. If we used sh to represent the /sh/ sound, there would not be any way to
represent an /s/ plus /h/ sound, because it too would look like sh. Using the symbol to represent
/sh/ makes it possible to represent /s/ plus /h/ and /sh/ plus /h/ (yes, in talit both these
combinations are used).
All of this concerns a larger point: the transcription system used in this book may appear
complex at first, but it has been carefully thought out and in the end it is the easiest system
possible. That said, the sooner you can make the transition to reading Arabic script, the easier it will be
to pronounce talit correctly.
Getting Started with talit

Objective: By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:
greet people and introduce yourself
use independent pronouns to make simple sentences
use possessive pronouns to indicate possession
distinguish between masculine and feminine nouns
Greetings
Cultural Points
Greetings and farewells (good byes) are two important aspects of Moroccan life. Greetings are
not to be compared with the quick American hi. It takes time for two people to exchange different
questions and answers which interest them about each other, their families, and life in general.
Greetings change from one region to another, both in the questions posed and in the fashion of the
greeting (i.e. shaking hands, kissing cheeks head or hands, or putting ones hand over ones heart after
shaking hands).
If you greet a group of people, then the way you greet the first person is the way you should greet
everyone in the group. Dont be surprised if you are greeted by a friend but he does not introduce you
to other people with whom he may be talking. Do not be surprised if you are in a group and you are not
greeted as others are in the group (people may be shy to greet a stranger.) It is also not necessary to
give an overly detailed response to a greetingonly the usual response is expected. For example, How
are you? requires only a simple Fine, thanks be to God.
How do people greet each

other in different cultures?
Greeting expressions and appropriate responses

A: Peace be upon you
B: And peace be upon you (too)
s-salamu alaykum
wa alaykum s-salam
A: Good morning
B: Good morning
ba l-xir
s
sba l-xir
A: Good afternoon / evening

B: Good afternoon / evening
msa l-xir
msa l-xir
Name
ism
Whats your name?
ma dak ism? (m)

ma dam ism? (f)
ma ysmnk?
(m)
6 talit
my ysmnm?
(f)
my name...
isminu...
your name...
ismnk... (m)
ismnm... (f)
his/her name...
ismns...
Nice to meet you.
mtrfin
How are you?
ma mnk a tgit?
Are you fine?
labas?
Good, thanks be to God.
labas, l-amdullah
Good, thanks be to God.
labas, nkrt i rbbi
...
Greetings Dialogue
. :
Amina: s-salamu alaykum.
. :
Chris: wa alaykum s-salam.
Amina: ma mnk a tgit?

Chris: labas, l-amdullah. ima kmmi?
Amina: labas, nkrt i rbbi.
. :
. :
Chris: samiyyi, ma dam ism?
Amina: isminu Amina, ima kyyi?
:
. :
Chris: isminu Chris.

Amina: mtrfin.
Chris: mtrfin.
Transcription Reminder see page 1 for the full table with all transcription characters.
: the /sh/ sound as in she
a: the a in father or the a in mad
x: the ch in the German Bach or the
Scottish loch See page 149.
i: the ee in meet
u: the oo in food
There are many ways of saying how are you?, but the most common of talit speakers are:
manzakin? (m)
manzakmin? (f)
is tfjjijt?
Mas ttin tiwit?
(is) thnna?

)(
Independent Pronouns
We call the following pronouns independent because they are not attached to other words, such as
nouns, verbs, or prepositions (see Possessive Pronouns, next page, and Object Pronouns, page 61).
The pronouns are often used in a number of different ways.
I
nkki
you (masculine singular)
kyyi
you (feminine singular)
kmmi
He
ntta
She
nttat
We
nkni
you (masculine plural)
knni
you (feminine plural)
knninti
they (masculine)
ntni
they (feminine)
ntnti
Transcription Reminder see page 1 for the full table with all transcription characters.
h: the normal English /h/ sound as in
: like the English h, except pronounce it
hello.
deep in the throat as a loud raspy

whisper. See page 150.
8 talit
Possessive Pronouns
In order to express possession in talit, the combination of the preposition n, ( of) and a suffix
(ending) is added to the end of words.
Singular
My
__nu / inu*
your (m)
__nk
your (f)
Plural
our
__n
your (m)
__nun
__nm
your (f)
__nunt
His
__ns
their (m)
__nsn
Her
__ns
their (f)
__nsnt
* my nu is used for word ending in vowels, while inu is used for words ending in consonants.
Example of possessive pronouns with the noun house.
House
tigmmi
my house
tigmminu
your house (m, s)
tigmmink
your house (f, s)
tigmminm
his/her house
tigmmins
our house
tigmmin
your house (m, p)
tigmminun
your house (f, p)
tigmminunt
their house (m)
tigmminsn
their house (f)
tigmminsnt
Exercise: Use the following words with the appropriate possessive pronoun.
taat
(goat)
afus (hand)
1. your (m, s) hand

2. our book
3. my carpet
4. their (m) goat
5. her hand
tazrbit (carpet)
l-ktab (book)
6. their (f) book

7. your (f, p) carpet
8. your (f, s) goat
9. his hand
10. your (m, s) book
Masculine and Feminine Nouns

In general, all nouns beginning with ( a), ( i) or ( u) are masculine. For example:
argaz
Man
iblis
Satan
Rain
anzar
Moon
ayur
Heart
ul
In general, all nouns beginning with ( t) are feminine. For example:

Bee
tizwit
Bride
tislit
Bottle
taqrit
Nose
tinxar
Sun
tafukt
Grass
tuga
There are many Arabic words that have been integrated into the talit language. We divide these
words into two categories:
a) those which have become part of talit.
b) those which have retained their Arabic form.
1. Masculine nouns
a) Arabic nouns that have the same form as talit nouns (initial vowel). The Arabic noun is
prefixed with the vowel ( a):
askri
Soldier
anjjar
Carpenter
addad / s.sudur
/
Welder
These nouns behave the same way as the talit nouns, they follow the same rules.
c) Nouns which have retained their Arabic form*:
l-faxr
Charcoal
l-mjmr
Brazier
Glass
l-kas
Market
s-suq
Box
-s
s
nduq
Door
l-bab
2. Feminine nouns
a) For those words already possessing the talit feminine marker ( t), we change the final
Arabic feminine marker ( a) to ( t).
tat
t
abt
Broom
talqrt
ast
Cartridge
Garden
talrst
Bag
talxnt
See page 154 for the Definite Article
10 talit
taqrit
Bottle
b) Words that have retained their Arabic form, prefixed with the definite article*.
l-tbt
Threshold
l-kmmiyt
Dagger
World
d-dunit
gas tank
l-but
a
School
l-mdrasa
tape recorder
l-musjjala
Court
l-mkama
Brush
-ita
Car
-t
t
omobil
Room
l-bit
How to form a feminine noun

Generally, we form the feminine of a masculine noun by adding a t ( )both at the beginning
and at the end of the noun.
Rooster
afullus
hen
jack (m donkey)
ayul
Berber (m)
ali
jenny (f donkey) tayult

talit
Berber (f)
john (m mule)
asrdun
Groom
asli /
Dog
isli
aydi
tafullust
izimr
brother (my)
gma
son (my)
iwi
molly (f mule)
tasrdunt
bride
taslit /
bitch
tislit
taydit
Certain feminine nouns are different from their masculine noun counterparts.
argaz
tamart
woman
Man
azgr
tafunast
cow
Bull
Ram
ewe
tili
sister (my)
ultma
daughter (my)
illi
Constructed and Isolated Nouns

In talit, we distinguish between the constructed form and the isolated form of certain nouns. By
the constructed form, we mean the change of the initial syllable of certain nouns. This is mainly true
with words beginning with a (). This vowel changes to u ():
urgaz
(man) argaz
For certain nouns, however, the vowel changes from a ( )to wa ():
See page 146 for the Definite Article

(river)
asif
(water) aman
wasif
waman
For certain feminine nouns beginning with ta ( )or ti (), we drop the a (_)r the i (_)in the
constructed from:
tmart
(women) tamart
tgmmi

(house) tigmmi
These nouns do not undergo changes when they are used in the isolated form (by themselves): argaz
(), asif (), tamart (), etc., or when they act as direct objects: zri argaz () , zri
tamart () , but do undergo changes in the following instances:
1. Under the influence of certain prepositions:
aaras n ugadir
The road of Agadir
I went to the village.
ddi s uduwwar.
He talked to the man.
isawl d urgaz.
He swam in the river.
tum wasif.
We went home.
ndda s tgmmi.
We rode on a mule.
ini f tsrdunt.
She gave it to the woman.
tfkat i tmart.
They went to the shop.
ddan s tanut.
I went to the forest.
ddi s tagant.
.
.
Notice in the last example, the word tagant (, forest) didnt change. Here are some other
nouns that do not change:
tagmart
mare
back
tadawt
goat
taat
brazier
takat
fig
tazart
neighbor
tadjart
salt
tisnt
meal
tirmt
eye
it
t
t
garlic
tiskrt
date
tiyni
2. After the number yan/yat (/, one):

yan urgaz
One man
One woman
yat tmart
One day
yan was
3. As a subject following the verb:

The boy is in the house.
Where is the house?
illa ufrux tgmmi.

mani tlla tgmmi?
12 talit
There is straw in the water. illa walim waman.
The man went to the souq. idda urgaz s s-suq.
.

.
Describing Yourself
ask and answer questions about nationalities, cities, age, and marital status
use the possessive word win/tin (/ )to indicate possession
use demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in simple sentences
ask questions about possession
Cultural Points
Avoid asking about the salary and age (sometimes) of people, especially women. Men should not
enquire about the wives or other female relations of someonethis could be seen as expressing an
inappropriate interest. People wont always tell you about their jobs and other personal concerns if not
asked. Religion can be a sensitive issue and sometimes people are not willing to express their views.
Nationalities, Cities, and Marital Status

Vocabulary and Expressions
Where are you (m) from?
g mani tgit?
Where are you (f) from?
ult mani tgit?
I am (m) from the U.S.
nkki gi g mirikan.
I am (f) from the U.S.
nkki gi ult mirikan.
I am (m) American.
nkki gi amirikani.
I am (f) American.
nkki gi tamirikanit.
I am (m) from Morocco.
nkki gi g l-mrib.
I am (f) from Morocco.
nkki gi ult l-mrib.
I am (m) Moroccan.
nkki gi amribi.
I am (f) Moroccan.
nkki gi tamribit.
Are you... ?
is tgit ?
Are you American (m/f)?
is tgit amirikani /
tamirikanit?
Where are you from in the U.S. ?
umani tgit (ult) mirikan?
And you (m/f)?
imma kyyi/kmmi?
City
tamdint
State
Wilaya
big (f)
tmqqur / txatr
small (f)
tmzziy
Excuse me.
samiyi
I am not ...
Ur gi

.
.
.
.
.
.

/

/
But
walakin/walaynni
married (m/f)
itahl/ttahl
No, not yet.
uhu, urta
Are you a tourist?
is tgit turist?
I work with the Peace Corps.
ar txdam d hayat s_salam.
14 talit
Dialogue
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
Brahim:
Steve:
samiyyi, gmani tgit?

nkki gi amribi.
mani l-mrib?
nkki ig g Tata, ima kyyi?
nkki ig amirikani.
mani mirikan?
waint
un
is tga washington tamdint
imzzyn?
uhu, waint
un tga tamdint
imqqurn.
samiyyi, mnnaw isggasn dark?
26 usggas, ima kyyi?
nkki dari 30 usggas, is
tahlt?
uhu, urta.
ula nkki. is tgit turist?
uhu, nkki ar txdam d hayat
s-salam.
mtrfin, bslama.
bslama.

.

.

.
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

:
.
:
:
26 :
30 :
. :
.
:
. :
. :
. :
Exercise: Complete each section of this dialogue.
16 talit
The Verbs to be
1- to be (to exist, to be in a place)
ili
I am
lli
you are (m/f, s)
tllit
he is
illa
she is
tlla
we are
nlla
you are (m, p)
tllam
you are (f, p)
tllamt
they are (m, p)
llan
they are (f, p)
llant
2- to be (state of being, become, put)
I am
gi
you are (m/f, s)
tgit
he is
iga
she is
tga
we are
nga
you are (m, p)
tgam
you are (f, p)
tgamt
they are (m, p)
gan
they are (f, p)
gant
These two verbs are often very confusing. Both of them translate to the verb to be, but the first
denotes be in a place, to exist and the second denotes be someone or something. Examples:
The donkey is in the field; The donkey is an animal.
The first is is translated to illa (): ayul illa igrr (
) . In the second case, the is is
translated to iga (): ayul iga yat l-bhimt () .
Demonstrative Pronouns, Adjectives &

Indefinite Pronouns
This, that, these, and those are used often in talit, like in English. But, unlike in English, in talit
we must be aware of whether they act as adjectives or pronouns. Think about how we use these words
in English. Sometimes, we use them before a noun. When we use them before a noun, they are called
demonstrative adjectives.
This car is Johns.
I like these towels.
I want that book.
Those flowers smell lovely.
Sometimes, we use them by themselves. In this case, they are called demonstrative pronouns.
This is Johns.
I like these.
I want that.
Those smell lovely.
It isnt necessary to know their names, but it is necessary to pay attention to whether they are before a
noun or not. Lets first look at the pronoun forms in talit, which you will use often even as a
beginner.
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative
Pronoun
Masculine
Feminine
this
wad
xttad
these
wid
xttid
that
wan
xttan
those
win
xttin
Examples:
Whats this?
ma yga wad
This is a chair.
wad iga l-krsi.
Whats that?
ma tga xttan?
Thats a TV.
xttan tga t-tlfaza.

.

.
izd wad nd xttad?

.
I want these and those. ri wid d win.
Is it this (m) or this (f)?
At first, you may have difficulty knowing whether to use the masculine or feminine form of this or
that. Moroccans should understand you even if you make an error with gender, however.
Talking about a General Situation

Sometimes in English, we use the words this and that to talk about general situations, not about
specific things.
Some of the students are always late for class. I dont like that.
In talit, different expressions are used for these meanings.
this thing, these things ayad
that thing, those things ayan

After some experience hearing native speakers, you should be able to know when to use the normal
demonstrative pronouns and when to use these expressions. Some examples:
What is this? (this thing, this object, situation, affair) ma yga ayad?
18 talit
Thats what I want. (a situation or outcome)
ayan ad ri. .
Demonstrative Adjectives
These demonstrative adjectives, which indicate place, come always after nouns.
ad
1. this/these
tamazirt ad tmqqur. .
This country is big.
These girls are beautiful.
tifrxin ad lant.
These fields are small.
igran ad mzziyn.
tazrbit ad tla.
This carpet is nice.

an
1. that/ those
That dog is ugly.
aydi yan ixn.
That flower is dead.
ajddig an immut.
an.
Those chickens are healthy. ifullusn an s
When ad ( )or an ( )comes after a noun that ends with a vowel, we prefix the y ( )to the ad or an.
Demonstrative Indefinite Pronouns

The demonstrative indefinite pronouns, the other, the others, those others:
Demonstrative
Pronoun
Masculine
Feminine
the other (one)
wayyad
tayyad
the others
wiyyad
tiyyad
I have one and you have the

other.
tlla yat dari tayyad
tlla dark.
These men plowed the fields, irgazn ad krzn igran

wiyyad
ddan s s-suq.
the others went to the souq.
One horse is here, the other yan wayyis illa id
wayyad
illa r-rwa.
one is in the barn.

.

.

The Possessive Word win/tin ( / )

In talit, you have already learned that possession can be expressed by adding the possessive
pronouns to the end of a word (see page 8). Another way to express possession is through the word
win(m)/ tin(f) (/), which must agree with the gender of the noun The same possessive
pronouns you learned before are attached to the end of win/tin (/).
Possessive
Pronoun
Masculine
mine
winu
tinu
yours (m, s)
wink
tink
yours (f)
winm
tinm
his/hers
wins
tins
ours
win
tin
yours (m, p)
winnun
yours (f, p)
winnunt
theirs (m, p)
winsn
theirs (f, p)
winsnt
Feminine
tinnun
tinnunt
tinsn
tinsnt
20 talit
This is my book.
wad iga l-ktabinu.
This is mine
wad iga winu.
These are my fingers.
wid gan id
ud
aninu.
These are mine.
wid gan winu.
Whose is this (m)?
win mit (ad) iga wad?
This is ours.
wad iga win.
Whose is this (f)?
tin mit (at) tga xttad?
This is theirs
xttad tga tinsnt.
.
.
.
.
)(
.
)(
.
Exercise:
Substitute the underlined words by the corresponding possessive
pronoun endings.
1. d-dwa n Amanda.
2. s
-s
ndala n Nancy d Lisa.
3. tirmt n Jack d Acha.
4. tayult n Joshua.
Exercise: Ask a question about possession for each picture. Then, give the correct
answer. The first one is done for you.
Q: win mit iga l-biklit ad?
A: l-biklit ad iga win assan.
Hassan

.

?
Q: _______________________?
A: ___________________sid.
Said
_______________
.____________
?
Ahmed
_______________
.____________
Q: _______________________?
A: __________________amd.
?
Aziz
Q: _______________________?
A: ___________________ziz.
_______________
.____________
22 talit
Useful Expressions
Here are some expressions to help you with homestay, travel, and other situations where your language
may not yet be at a point where you are able to communicate well in talit. If you follow the
pronunciation of the transcriptions, Moroccans should understand you. More expressions can be
found in the appendix. See page 161.
Mealtime Expressions
In the name of God (said when you
begin an activity: eating, drinking,
working, studying, traveling, etc.).
bismillah
Thanks to God (said after finishing a

meal, or after expressing that all is well
in life).
l-amdullah
I dont eat ...
ur a tta...
meat
eggs
fish
chicken

tifiya
tiglay
islman
ifullusn
ar ssa atay/l-qhwa bla

I drink tea / coffee without sugar. s-skar.
I eat everything.
ar tta kuli.
I eat vegetables only.
ar tta ir l-xd
rt.
I dont feel like eating.
ur gigi mayttan.
I want just/only ...
ri ir
I dont want to have breakfast.
ur ri ad fd
r.
The food is delicious.
tirmt tmmim.
Im full.
ba.
I want to learn how to cook.
ri ad tllm ad snu.
May God replenish / reward you. ayxlf rbbi.

(said after a meal to thank host)
To your health (said to someone

after eating, drinking, coming out of the
hammam, wearing new clothes, having
a hair cut, etc.)
b s
-s
a.
May God grant you health too.
lla ytik s
-s
a
(response to the above)

. /
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thanking Expressions
Thank you.
ukran.
Youre welcome.
bla jmil.
Expressions for Nighttime / Sleeping

Im tired.
rmi.
I want to read a little bit.
ri ad r imik.
I want to go to bed.
ri ad ddu ad gn.
Where I am going to sleep?
mani rad gn?
Excuse me, I want to go to bed.
amiyi,ri ad gn.
s
I want to go to bed early.
ri ad gn zik.
I want to get up early.
ri ad nkr zik.
I want a blanket.
ri yat l-kaa/l-mant
a.
.
.
.

.
./
Hygiene/Cleanliness Expressions
I want to wash my hands with
soap.
ri ad ssird ifassninu
s s
-s
abun.
I want to brush my teeth.
ri ad ssird
uxsansinu.
I want hot water, please.
ri aman ranin
I want to take a shower.
ri ad duww
I want to go to the hammam.
ri ad ddu s l-ammam.
I want to change my clothes.
ri ad bddl
l-wayjinu.
Where is the toilet?
mani tlla bitlma?
I want to do laundry.
ri ad s
bbn
l-wayjinu.
Where can I do laundry?
mani rad s
bbn?
.
.

.
.
Offering Help / Asking for Favors

Can I help you (m)?
izd ak awn?
Can I help you (f)?
izd akm awn?
Excuse me.
samiyi.
Give me... please. (to a man)
fkiyyi afak.
Give me please. (to a woman) fkiyyi afakm.
.
.
.
Being Sick
Im sick.
mrid
.
I want to rest a bit.
ri ad sunfu.
Do you feel better?
is tmd
rat?/ is tjjit
.
.
/
Transportation Expressions
I want to go to ...
ri ad ddu s ...
24 talit
Take me to ... please.
awyi s ... afak.
Stop here, please.
bdd id, afak.
Is the meter on?
is ixdm l-kuntur?
Turn on the meter, please.
ssxdm l-kuntur, afak.
.

.

.
Responses to Problems/Difficulties/Apologies
Its not a problem.
mai mukil.
There is no problem.
ihnna l-al.
Congratulations
Congratulations!
mbruk!
Happy holiday.
mbruk l-id.
May God grant you grace.
l-lah ibark fik.
!
.
.
Communication
I dont understand.
ur fhim.
I dont know.
ur ssin.
Slowly please.
fk l-xat
r, afak.
Repeat please. (to a man)
awd afak.
Repeat please. (to a woman)
awd afakm.
What did you say?
ma tnnit?
Numerals
Objective: By the end of the chapter, you will be able to :
count in Arabic and talit
combine numbers with nouns to indicate amounts
ask and answer questions about time
When we talk about numerals, we want to be able to do two things. First, we have to be able to count.
That is, we have to learn our numbers. Second, we have to be able to use the numbers with objects. In
other words, we have to be able to say things like five apples or twenty-seven students or one
hundred forty-three volunteers.
Why Arabic Numbers?

Although there are talit numbers (page 150), we usually use Arabic numbers except for the numbers
one, two and three. Therefore, it is important that you learn the Arabic number and, if you want to
impress, learn the talit numbers, too.
Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal numbers refer to the normal numbers we use (one, two, three...). They are different than
ordinal numbers (first, second, third...) and fractions (one-half, one-third, one-fourth...). For now, we
start with the cardinal numbers. We will work with ordinal numbers and fractions later.
Numbers 1 through 10
one (m)
yan
one (f)
yat
one (Arabic)
wad
two (m)
sin
two (f)
snat
two (Arabic)
juj
three (m)
krad
three (f)
krat
three (Arabic)
tlata
four
rba
five
xmsa
six
stta
seven
sba
eight
tmnya
nine
tsud
ten
ra
Combining talit numbers with nouns

For the number 1, we do the following:
number (matched with gender) + singular noun
one man (a man)
yan urgaz
26 talit
one woman (a woman)
yat tmart
For the numbers 2 and 3, we do the following: number (matched with gender) + plural noun
For numbers 4 to 10: number + n ( )+ plural noun
four cows
rba n tfunsasin
ten dirhams
ra n d-drahm
Numbers 11 through 19
eleven
d
a
twelve
na
t
thirteen
tlt
a
fourteen
rbt
a
fifteen
xmst
a
sixteen
st
t
a
seventeen
sbt
a
eighteen
tmnt
a
nineteen
tst
a
Numbers 20, 30, 40 ... 99

For a multiple of ten (20, 30, 40 etc.) in talit, we simply use the name for that number, like in
English. For numbers such as 21, 22, or 23, however, it is not like English. In talit, the ones digit is
pronounced first, followed by the word and, then followed by the tens digit. For example, in talit
the number 21 is literally one and twenty while the number 47 is literally seven and forty. Here is a
list of the multiples of ten, with examples of numbers between each multiple:
twenty
rin
twenty-one
literally: one and twenty
wad u rin
twenty-two
literally: two and twenty
tnayn u rin
twenty-three
literally: three and twenty
tlata u rin
twenty-four
rba u rin
thirty
tlatin
thirty-one
wad u tlatin
thirty-two
tnayn u tlatin
thirty-three
tlata u tlatin
forty
forty-one
rbin
wad u rbin
forty-two
tnayn u rbin
fifty
xmsin
sixty
sttin
seventy
sbin
eighty
tmanin
ninety
tsin
ninety-nine
tsud u tsin
For numbers 11 through , we can combine a number and a noun like this:
number +n ( )singular noun
eighteen years
tmnt
a n usggas
Numbers 100, 200, 300 ... 999

The Arabic word for 100 is miya. For 200, there is a dual form of miyatayn. For 300 thru 900, we
use the short form of the numbers 3 thru 9 plus miya. For numbers such as 107 or 257, we will use the
appropriate multiple of 100 followed by the word and and then the rest of the number. Some
examples:
one hundred
one hundred one
literally: one hundred and one
one hundred two

literally: one hundred and two
one hundred ten

literally: one hundred and ten
one hundred eleven

one hundred twenty-one
miya
miya u wad
miya u juj
miya u ra
miya u d
a
miya u wad u rin
literally: one hundred and two and

twenty
miya u tnayn u rin
one hundred ninety-nine
miya u tsud u tsin
literally: one hundred and one and

twenty
one hundred twenty-two
two hundred
two hundred fifty-seven
literally: two hundred and seven
and fifty
three hundred
three hundred forty-five
literally: three hundred and five and
forty
miyatayn
miyatayn u sba u
xmsin
tlt miya
tlt miya u xmsa u
rbin
four hundred
rb miya
five hundred
xms miya
six hundred
stt miya
28 talit
seven hundred
sb miya
eight hundred
tmn miya
nine hundred
ts miya
nine hundred ninety-nine
ts miya u tsud u
tsin
Numbers 1000, 2000, 3000 ...

The word for thousand has the singular form alf, the dual form alfayn, and the plural form alaf.
The plural form is used with the short form of the numbers 3 thru 10 from 3 thousand to 10
thousand. Then we return to the singular form (like we do for all Arabic nouns). Like the word for
hundred, it is followed by and when the number is not an exact multiple of 1000 (e.g. 1027 or
4738). From 1000 onward:
one thousand
alf
one thousand one
alf u wad
one thousand fifteen
alf u xmst
a
one thousand three hundred

sixty-seven (literally: one
thousand and three hundred and
seven and sixty)
two thousand
two thousand twenty-two
three thousand
three thousand seven
hundred and fifty
alf u tlt miya u sba

u sttin
alfayn
alfayn u tnayn u
rin
tlt alaf
tlt alaf usbmya
u xmsin
four thousand
rb alaf
five thousand
xms alaf
six thousand
stt alaf
seven thousand
sb alaf
eight thousand
tmn alaf
nine thousand
ts alaf
nine thousand nine hundred

ninety-nine
ts alaf u ts miya u
tsud u tsin
ten thousand
r alaf
eleven thousand
d
a r alf
two hundred thousand
miyatayn alf
nine hundred ninety-nine

thousand, nine hundred and
ninety-nine
ts miya u tsud u
tsin alf u ts miya
u tsud u tsin
Larger Numbers
Singular
Plural
million(s)
mlyun
mlayn
billion(s)
mlyar
mlayr
30 talit
Exercise: Match the number with the correct translation.
147
xms miya u tst

a
xms alaf u tlt miya u tnayn u
rin
tsud u sttin
519
alf u t
na
1012
miyatayn u tmnya u tsin
2
298
Exercise:

( )
miya u sba u rbin
5322
sin (snat)
69
Correctly combine numbers with nouns by filling in the blanks using the following
numbers and any necessary letters: 1, 3, 7, 15, 20, 500, or 1000. There may be more than
one correct answer for each.
tfrxin
(girls)
tgmmi
(house)
stilu
(pen)
(women)
lot
il
(hotel)
irgazn
(men)
(chicken)
tmarin
afullus
Ordinal Numbers / Fractions

Ordinal Numbers
To form ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) in talit, for all numbers except 1, we add wis ()
if the noun is masculine and tis ( )if the noun is feminine.
the first (m)
amzwaru
the first (f)
tamzwarut
the second (m)
wissin
the second (f)
tisnat
the third (m)
wiskrad
the third (f)
tiskrat
the fourth (m)
wisrba
the fourth (f)
tisrba
the fifth (m)
wisxmsa
the fifth (f)
tisxmsa
the tenth (m)
wisra
the tenth (f)
tisra
the twentieth (m)
wisrin

the twentieth (f)
tisrin
the ninetieth (m)
wistsin
the ninetieth (f)
tistsin
the last (m)
amggaru
the last (f)
tamggarut
Fractions
half
ns
third
tulut
fourth
rubu / rb
fifth
lxumus
Time
To express time, we use the appropriate number with the Arabic definite article (see page 146 for more
info on the definite article). This means that for 1:00, 5:00, 10:00, and 11:00, we will use the letter l
( )before the number, while for the others, we will double the first consonant.
one
l-wda
seven
s-sba
two
j-juj
eight
t-tmnya
three
t-tlata
nine
t-tsud
four
r-rba
ten
l-ra
five
l-xmsa
eleven
l-d
a
six
s-stta
twelve
-t
t
na
For telling time in talit, we use the Arabic preposition.

before
ql
and
exactly
nian
quarter
rb
twenty minutes
tulut
half
ns
quarter to
lla rob
five minutes
qs
m
ten minutes
qs
mayn
Some examples of asking and answering about time:

It is exactly one oclock.
l-wda nian.
It is five minutes past two.
j-juj u qs
m.
It is ten minutes past three.
t-tlata u qs
mayn.
It is a quarter past four.
r-rba u rb.
It is twenty minutes past five.
l-xmsa u tulut.
.
.
.
.
.
It is twenty-five minutes past six. s-stta u xmsa u rin.

s-sba u ns
.
It is seven thirty.
It is eight thirty-five.
tmnya u xmsa u tlatin.
It is twenty minutes to nine.
t-tsud ql tulut.
.
.
32 talit
It is a quarter to ten.
l-ra lla rob.
It is ten minutes to eleven
l-d
a ql qs
mayn.
It is five minutes to twelve.
-t
t
na ql qs
m.
6:30 A.M.
s-stta u ns
n s
-s
ba
5:15 P.M.
l-xmsa u rb n tdggat
.
.
Exercise: Match the times with the correct translation.

10:30
l-wda u qs
m
12:00
l-d
a u qs
mayn
1:05
-t
t
na nihan
2:20
l-ra ql tulut
l-ra u ns
11:10
9:40
j-juj u tulut
Exercise: Give the time for each clock or watch.
34 talit
Getting Started Shopping

convert between dirhams, ryals, and franks
buy items you need from a store
use the verb iri in simple sentences to indicate a desire
indicate the presence or absence or someone or something with illa, etc.
Money
l-flus /iqaridn
5
20
100
100 frank
1 dirham
100
20 ryal
20
5
When converting ryals to dirhams, divide by 20.

e.g. 100 ryals: 100 20 = 5 DH.
From franks to ryals, divide by 5. For example, 200 franks 5 = 40 ryals.
From franks to dirhams, divide by 100. For example, 200 franks 100 = 2 DH.
From ryals to dirhams, divide by 20. For example, 40 ryals 20 = 2 DH.
From ryals to franks, multiply by 5. For example, 40 ryals 5 = 200 franks.
From dirhams to ryals, multiply by 20. For example, 2 DH 20 = 40 ryals.
From dirhams to franks, multiply by 100. For example, 2 DH 100 = 200 franks.
Exercise: Convert the money amounts.

1. Convert to dirhams
35 ryal
150 ryal
2. Convert to ryals
10 DH
30 DH
365 ryal
270 ryal
555 ryal
25 DH
125 DH
19 DH
At the tanut ()
Vocabulary
store
taanut
peanuts
kaw kaw
store keeper
bu tanut
almonds
l-luz
soda
l-monada
bottle
taqrit
chocolate
-klat
bottle of water
taqrit n
waman
candies
l-lwa
Kleenex
kliniks
gum
l-mskka
toilet paper
ppapiyi
jinik
cookies
l-kiks
tooth paste
dontifris
juice
l-as
ir
soap
-s
s
abun
bread
arum
shampoo
-ampwan
jam
l-konfitur
detergent
tid
butter
tamudit
bleach
jabir
eggs
tiglay
batteries
l-jrat
yogurt
danon
razor
r-razwar
milk
l-lib
tobacco store
-s
s
aka
coffee
l-qhwa
cigarettes
l-garru
tea
atay
package
l-bakit
sugar
s-skkar
cheese
l-frmaj
money
l-flus/
iqarid
n
oil
z-zit
change
-s
s
rf
Expressions
Do you have ... ?
is dark...?
Yes, I do (have).
iyyah, dari.
No, I dont (have).
uhu, ur dari.
Is there ... ? (m, s)
is illa...?
Yes, there is. (m, s)
iyyah, illa.
Yes, there is. (f, s)
iyyah, tlla.
No, there isnt. (m, s)
uhu, ur illi.
No, there isnt. (f, s)
uhu, ur tlli
Give me ... please.
fkiyyi...afak.
What do you want maam / sir?
ma trit a lalla/sidi?
How much?
mnk?
Do you have change (m, s)?
is dark s
-s
rf?

.
.
.
/

36 talit
Do you have change for... (m, s)?
is dark s
-s
rf n ...?
Liter
liter
it
ru
liter
rb it
ru
liter
ns
it
ru
1 liter
it
ru
2 liters
sin lit
ruwat
I want a liter of milk.
ri ns
it
ru n l-lib.
Dialogue
Kate: s-salam u alaykum.
bu tanut: wa alaykum s-salam.
ma trit a lalla?
Kate: is dark klat
?
bu tanut: iyyah, yujad a lalla.
Kate: fkiyyi snat l-bakiyat.
mnk?
bu tanut: 13 n drahm
Kate: hak, barak llah ufik.
bu tanut: bla jmil
.
:
.
:
:
.
:
. :
. 13 :
. :
. :

.1
1. mani tlla Kate?

2. is tsa l-jrat n r-radio?
.2
.3
3. ma tsa dar bu tanut?

4. mnk n yat?
.4
.5
5. smnk?
There is/are
The words illa (), tlla (
), llan (),and llant ( )are actually the participles for the
verb to be, illi (). In talit, however, we use them most often in the sense of there is or
there are.
Affirmative
there is (m, s)
illa
there is (f, s)
tlla
there are (m, p)
llan
there are (f, p)
llant
Negative
there is not (m, s)
ur illi
there is not (f, s)
ur tlli
there are not (m, p)
ur llin
there are not (f, p)
ur llint

Fatima is at home.
Is there water in the fridge?
There is no electricity in the
village.
Fat
ima tlla tigmmi.
is llan waman ttllaja?
ur illi d
-d
u uduwar.
Exercise: Add the correct form of there is/are to the following sentences.
1. is ___ Karim tgmmi?
2. nttnti ur ___ l-mdrasa.
3. nkni ___ l-qism.
4. ntni ___ l-mrib.
___ .1
. ___ .2
. ___ .3
. ___ .4
38 talit
Verb to want
In talit, the verb to want is iri (). This verb uses the past tense but has a present tense
meaning. When conjugated in the present tense, iri ( )means to like (see page 98).
I want
ri
you want (s)
trit
he wants
ira
she wants
tra
we want
nra
you want (m, p)
tram
you want (f, p)
tramt
they want (m, p)
ran
they want (f, p)
rant
Verb + Noun Examples

Doha wants Coke.
Amina wants a bowl of soup.
dua tra kuka.
amina tra yat tjbbanit n

uzkkif.
Khadija and Brahim dont want

tea.
xadija d brahim ur rin

atay.
These girls dont want cookies
tifrxin ad ur rint lkiks.
.
.
.
.
Note that we negate iri by adding ur before the verb.
Exercise:
Make as many sentences as you can.
e.g. Hicham ira kuka.

ua
d
ntni
fat
ima
kmmi
nkni
nttat
knni
knnimti
trit
ran
rant
tram
tramt
nra
ira
tra
lpizza
l-lib s klat
ppanai
atay s nnna
as
ir l-limun
lmunada
Family
describe family members
use the verb to have in simple sentences

Cultural Points
Family ties are very strong in Morocco. Children remain in touch or live with the family even if
they get married (taking into consideration space available within the house). Men are not expected to
help in the kitchen. Roles of men and women may differ in the city and in the country.
Family Members
woman/wife
tamart
man/husband
argaz
girl/daughter
tafruxt
boy/son
afrux
girls/daughters
tifrxin
boys/sons/
children
ifrxan
children
tarwa
the parents
l-waldin
sisters
my father
baba
immy/ymmi
my mother
my brother
gma
my brothers/
siblings
aytma
my sister
ultma
my sisters
istma
my grandfather
jddi
my grandmother
jdda
istmatn
my uncle
(maternal)
xali
brothers/siblings aytmatn
my aunt (maternal)
xalti
my niece
(brothers side)
illis n gma
my uncle (paternal)
mmi
my niece
(sisters side)
illis n
ultma
my aunt (paternal)
mmti
my cousin (m,
maternal
yiwis n
xali/xalti
my daughter
illi
my cousin (f,
maternal)
illis n
xali/xalti
my son
yiwi
my nephew
(brothers side)
yiwis n
gma
my nephew
(sisters side)
yiwis n
ultma
my cousin (m,
paternal)
my cousin (f,
paternal)
yiwis n
mmi/mmti
illis n
mmi/mmti
For father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, and uncle, the word is almost always used with a possessive
pronoun. Thus, we say my father or his mother or your brother, but rarely ever use them alone.
my father
baba
my mother
immi
your father (m, s)
babak
your mother (m, s)
mak
your father (f, s)
babam
your mother (f, s)
mam
his/her father
babas
his/her mother
mas
our father
babatn
our mother
matn
your father (m, p)
babatun
your mother (m, p)
matun
your father (f, p)
babatunt
your mother (f, p)
matunt
40 talit
their father (m, p)
babatsn
their mother (m, p)
matsn
their father (f, p)
babatsnt
their mother (f, p)
matsnt
Exercise: Add the possessive endings to the following (your, our, his, etc.):
sister
ultma
brother
gma
my uncle
mmi
my aunt
mmti
Expressions
How is Mohamed related to you
?(m/f)
mad ak/am iga Mohamed?
. /
How is Amina related to

you?(m/f)
mad ak/am tga amina

(Amina)?
My mom doesnt work.
immi ur atxdam.
My mom and dad are divorced
immi d baba bd
an.
I have two twin siblings.
dari sin aytma ikunna.
How many siblings do you

have?(m/f)
mnk n aytmak/aytmam
dark/darm?
/ /
How many sisters do you

have?(m/f)
mnk n istmak/istmam
dark/darm?
/ /
Whats your fathers name?(m/f)
mad ism i babak/babam?
How old is your brother?(m/f)
mnk n usggas dar

gmak/gmam?
I have a younger brother.
dari gma imzziy flli.
My (male, paternal) cousin and I

are the same age.
nkki d yiwis n mmi nga

yat tgadda.
My older sister is a teacher.
ultma lli flli mqqurn

tga talustat.
My younger brother goes to

school.
gma lli flli mzziyn

aryaqra.
.
.
.
/
/
.
.
.
.
Exercise: For this letter from Kaoutar to Kathrine put sentences A thru H in the correct
order.
tamddakultinu katrin (Kathrine),
ri adam sawl f l-familanu.
A. baba ismns Mohamed.
B. immi dars 44 n usggas.
C. mus
t
afa (Mustapha) dars 15 n
usggas d amza (Hamza) dars 20 n
usggas.
D. (zdn didn tigmmi) walakin ultma
ttahl
E. argazns ismns lasn (Lahcen). darsn
yat tfruxt ismns nura (Noura)
F. dars 32 n usggas.
G. ismns xadija (Khadija).
H. dari sin aytma.
swliyi f l-familanm ula kmmi!
tamddakultnm, kawtar (Kaoutar)

.
. .A
. 44 .B
20 15

.C
.
. ) ( .D
.
.E
.
. 32 .F
. .G
. .H
!

42 talit
Practice Text
isminu John. baba ismns Stephen.
immi ismns Judy. dari krad
aytma:
snat istma d yan gma. gma ismns
Brian, ar itxdam yat -arika.
ultma Kathy ttahl. dars sin lum:
yan ufrux d yat tfruxt. afrux
imzziyn sul. dars krad
iyyurn.
tafruxt dars tmnya n isggasn ar tddu
s l-madrasa. ultma lli mzziyn,
Mary, arsul taqra l-jamia.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
. . .
. :
: .
. . .
.
.
mad ism i babas n John?

mad ism i mas n John?
mnk n aytmatn dar John?
mad imzziyn l-famila n John?
is txdm illis n ultmas n John?
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
The verb to have dar ( )in the present

tense:
I have
dari
you have (m, s)
dark
you have (f, s)
darm
he/she has
dars
we have
darn
you have (m, p)
darun
you have (f, p)
darunt
they have (m, p)
darsn
they have (f, p)
darsnt
Tami has two brothers.
tami dars sin aytmas.
d-d
u tigmmin
We have electricity in our house. darn
To negate the verb, use ur ().

Do you have a car in Morocco?
No, I dont.
is dark t-tomobil
l-mrib?
uhu, ur dari.
Exercise: Put the verb dar in the correct form.

1. My sister ___ a nice house.
ultma ___ tigmmi ilan.
2. Samira and Khalid ___ a lot of samira d xalid ___ tarwa

ggutnin.
kids.
l-famila n ait li ___
3. The At Ali family ___ cats.
imaiwn.
uhu, ___ lu-qt
4. No, ___ time.
. ___
. ___
.
___
. ___
Directions
use prepositions to describe the locations of objects
give and receive directions to places around town
Prepositions
at (someones) dar
next to
to / for
in / at
till / until
ar
to (direction)
above / on
aflla
with
(company)
below / under
izdar
with (means,
manner)
facing
mgabal d
on / about
f / iggi
in front of
l-gddam n
of
next to
tama n
from
on the left of
azlmad
n
without
bla
on the right of
afasiy n
except
abla
in the middle
of
tuzzumt n
between /
among
gr
behind
tird
in
before
qbl
inside
agns
after
bd
under
ddu / ddaw
44 talit
The well is in the middle of the
fields.
illa wanu tuzzumt n

igran.
Meriams house is not next to

the bar.
ur tlli tgmmi n meriam

tama n l-bar.
She ate everything except fish.
ta kuli abla islman.
.

.
.
Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition.

1. fat
ima tra script __ imik n
tlit.
2. srs l-ktubinu __ t
-t
bla.
. __ .1
. __ .2
__ .3
3. middn id urasnwan __ ikud

n.
4. llan igra ggutnin __ wassif.
5. l-madani uraytxdam kra ygat as __
6:00.
6. sawl __ fat
ima __ l-maakil n
middn tmazirt ad.
7. taanut __ lasn tlla __ l-banka
__ l-bos
t
a.
takurt
Exercise: mani tlla takurt?
. __ .4
.6:00 __ .5
. __ __ .6
. __ __
__ .7
snduq
4
takurt tlaa f s
-s
nduq.
.

Directions
Vocabulary
hospital /
health center
s-sbit
ar
pharmacy
l-frmasyan
mosque
timzgid/
l-jama
public phone
t-telebutik
store
taanut
avenue
-ari
street
z-znqt
alley
d-drb
far (from)
ibd (f)
( )
close (to)
iqrrb (s)
( )
here
id / did
there
in / din
hotel
l-ot
il
post office
l-bost
a
train station
la-gar
bus station
l-mat
t
a n
l-kiran
city bus stop
l-mat
t
a n
t-t
ubisat
bank
l-banka
public bath
l-mmam
restaurant
r-rist
ora
caf
l-qhwa
cyber caf
s-siber
school
l-mdrasa
weekly market
s-suq
Expressions
Where is ... please?
mani illa/tlla...
afak?
Is there a ... close?
is illa/tlla...iqrbn?
Go straight.
sir/zayd nian.
Turn right.
gllb/duwr f ufasiy.
. /
Turn left.
gllb/duwr f uzlmad
.
. /
Go ahead a bit.
zayd wiya s l-gddam.
Pass the first street.
zri z-znqt tamzwarut.
km d z-znqt tissnat.
nd
The 2 street, yes.
...
/

...
/

. /
46 talit
Dialogue
Alethea: s-salamu alaykum.
.
:
Sada: wa alaykum s-salam.

samiyyi, ri a km
Alethea:
saqsa.
Sada: iyyah, mrba.
.
:
. :
. :
is tssnt yat tmirikanit

tzd id ismns Kathrine?
Sada: izd kawtar?
iyyah, kawt
ar. is tssnt
Alethea:
tigmmins?
zayd nian ar
s-s
akayan, bbi aaras s
uzlmad
. zayd nian ar
Sada: t-tilibutik. gllb f
ufasi, km tazniqt
tisnat, tgmmi n kawtar
tlla aflla n bu l-xd
rt.
Alethea: llay rm l-waldin.
. :
Alethea:
.
. .
.
.
:
. :
Sada: waldina u waldik.
. :
Alethea: a yawn rbbi.
. :
Sada: amin.
. :
Exercise: Using the same map, give each person directions.

1. Dave is in the sbit
ar and wants to go to l-bost
a.
2. Anna is in the mat
t
a and wants to go to l-ot
il.
3. Stephen is in the mari and wants to go to s-siber.
4. Hakim is in the tanut and wants to go to l-mmam.
l-mmam
r-ristora
la gar
s-siber
l-bar
l-qhwa

l-mdrasa
l-mari
j-jrda
l-frmasyan
l-banka
t-telebutik
anut
l-otil
l-bosta
j-jam
mattat l-kiran
s-sbitar
Past Events
talk about past activities with regular and irregular verbs
talk about what you did not do using negative sentences
ask about past experiences (Have you ever...) and respond (Ive never...)
use object pronouns with verbs
ask varied questions with different question words
Time Vocabulary
Before we begin the past tense, lets learn some words that will help us describe when past events took
place. Then we will be ready to talk about some of our past activities.
Days of the Week

day
as
week
s-simana
Sunday
l-dd
Monday
l-tnin
Tuesday
lat
t
Wednesday
l-arba
()
Thursday
l-xmis
Friday
l-jama
Saturday
s-sbt
June
yunyu
July
yulyuz
August
ut
Months of the Year

month
ayyur
year
asggas
January
yanayr
February
fbrayr
September
utanbir
March
mars
October
oktobr
April
abril
November
nuwanbir
May
may
December
dujanbir
fall
l-xrif
winter
tagrst
The Seasons
summer
-s
s
if
spring
r-rbi
Time Expressions
this year
asggasad
lli izrin
events

last
Foryear
information about the monthsasggas
of the Islamic
calendar and some of the major religious
ayyur
lli
izrin
of the
year, see Moroccan Holidays on page 164.

last
month
last week
s-simana lli izrin
yesterday
id
gam
today
as
s
ad
on (+ day of the week)
as n ...
...
48 talit
on Friday
as n l-jama
in (+ month)
...
in August
ut
at (+ time)
...
at 9:00
t-tsud
at dawn
l-fjr
in the morning
s
-s
ba
in the afternoon / evening
tdggat / tazdwit
at night
d
yyid
at midnight
tuzzumt n d
yyid
daytime
azal
lunch time
dar imkli
dinner time
dar imnsi
early
zik
on time
l-wqt
before
qbl
a while ago
Gamlli/s-sat lli
a long time ago
mnk ayad
the day before yesterday
asffan
that day
aslli
at that time
akudan

...

Past Tense
Verbs in General
When learning verbs in a foreign language, we usually learn the infinitive form of the verb (e.g. to
eat), and then learn how to conjugate from that infinitive (I eat, he eats, they eat). In talit, there
are not infinitives for verbs in this way. Rather, we use the imperative (second person singular
masculine), which is the shortest form of the verb. Therefore, the verb skr ( )is translated as to
do, while in reality skr ( )means do (see imperative p. 70).
sit
ggawr
qqn
close
imperative you
bd
stand
form like an
infinitive
Whenever you are given a new verb in this book or by your teacher, it will be given to you in this form.
To this infinitive form, you can add prefixes (letters that we attach to the beginning of a word) and
suffixes (letters we attach to the end of a word) in order to conjugate the verb. Some infinitives with
vowels will be conjugated differently from verbs containing only consonants.
Past Tense
In talit, there are two patterns of prefixes and suffixes for conjugating past tense verbs.
Unfortunately, there is no rule that tells us when a verb uses pattern 1 prefixes and suffixes and when it
uses those of pattern 2. Anytime you learn a new verb, therefore, you will also have to memorize its
past tense pattern number (1 or 2).
Within each pattern, there are both regular and irregular verbs. For regular verbs, we simply use the
infinitive form of the verb with the prefixes and suffixes of the pattern. In other words, its past tense
stem is the same as its infinitive. For irregular verbs, the infinitive form of the verb must be
changed before it can be used with the prefixes and suffixes. In other words, the past tense stem is
different than the infinitive for irregular verbs.
The Glossary of Verbs at the back of the book will always tell you the pattern number of a verb and give
you its past tense stem.
Pattern 1 Verbs in the Past Tense

The prefixes and suffixes for pattern 1 are:
I
__
you
t__t
he
i__
__
she
t__
__
__
__
we
n__
you (m)
t__m
you (f)
t__mt
they (m)
__n
they (f)
__nt
__
__
__
__
__
Regular Pattern 1 Verbs

As we indicated earlier, the past tense stem for regular verbs is the same as the infinitive.
Examples:
fd
r
to eat breakfast
fd
r
nfd
r
50 talit
tfd
rt
tfd
rm
ifd
r
tfd
rmt
tfd
r
fd
rn
fd
rnt
Some Regular Pattern 1 Verbs

to pass
zri
to forget
ttu
to climb / go up
li
to be tired
rmi
to cut
bbi
to know
ssn
to put
srs
to taste
md
i
to ask
saqsa
to sleep
gn
to do
skr
to work
xdm
Some examples:
Yesterday, I got up early.
id
gam nkr zik.
Last week Mohamed traveled to

Agadir
s-simana lli izrin isafr

Mohamed s ugadir.
Last year, we worked with Peace asggas lli izrin, nxdm d

hayat s-salam.
Corps.
Exercise: Put the verbs in parentheses in the correct form.

Ali: is (gn) id
gam zik?
)(
Omar: uhu!
Ali: max?
. )( )(
( )( ).( }{ )
{ }. )(
.()( )
Omar: (ggawr) d l-familanu,

(sawl) didsn imik.mn bd
{nkki} (f). llid
(aul), (lb) l-kart
a,
(tfrj) t-tlfaza. mn
bd {nkki} (km) s
l-bitinu (gn).
l-d lli izrin, (awn) ultma
l-kuzina: (ssird) irukutn, (bbi)
l-xd
rt.
( ) )( : )(
.
Past Tense Irregular Pattern 1 Verbs

Any pattern 1 verb beginning with a( )forms its past tense stem by changing the a ( )to u ().
to take
amz
umz
numz
tumz
tumzm
*yumz
tumzmt
tumz
umzn
umznt
*Notice that in the 3rd person singular masculine form, we insert y before the actual verb instead of
i.
Some Irregular Pattern 1 Verbs

to send
azn
to pick up / carry
asi
to steal
akr
to hang
agl
to recognize
akz
to catch / capture
amz
to believe
amn
Some examples:
I sent a letter to my brother.
uzn yat tbrat i gma.
They caught a thief yesterday.
umzn yan umxxar id

gam.
.
.

is (asi) l-ktabnk?
)(
(akr) Hassan iqarid

n i babas.
.)(
urk (amn).
.( )
managu (amz) tabrat.
. )(
Pattern 2 Verbs
Pattern 2 verbs use the same prefixes as pattern 1 verbs, but different suffixes.
General Pattern:
I
__i
you
t__it
he
i__a
__
she
t__a
__
__
__
we
n__a
__
you (m)
t__am
__
you (f)
t__amt
they (m)
__an
__
they (f)
__ant
__
__
Regular Pattern 2 Verbs

Like pattern 1 verbs, the past tense stem of pattern 2 regular verbs is the same as its infinitive.
Examples:
52 talit
to see
zri
tzrit
zr
nzra
tzram
izra
tzramt
tzra
zran
zrant
Some Pattern 2 Regular Verbs

to break
rrz
to buy
to wear
ls
to study / read
to kill
to give
fk
to drink
su
to cook
snu
Some examples:
Last week he bought a nice
jelaba.
s-simana lli izrin isa

yat tjllabit ilan.
What did you read yesterday?
ma trit id
gam?
zri amddaklinu
s-simana lli izrin.
I saw my friend last week.
.

.

is (fk) Amina l-ktab i Jamal?
ma {kmmi} (ls) id
gam l-fla?
(rrz) kamal l-magan lli as {nkki}
(fk).
)(
}{ )(
.()( }{ )
Past Tense Irregular Pattern 2 Verbs

There are four categories of irregular pattern 2 verbs:
1. Verbs ending in u ()
2. Verbs beginning with i ()
3. Verbs beginning with a ()
4. Verbs with a ( )in the middle
54 talit
1st Category, verbs ending in u ()

To form the past tense stem, we drop the final vowel and follow the general pattern for the pattern 2
verbs.
to go
ddu
ddi
ndda
tddit
tddam
idda
tddamt
tdda
ddan
ddant
Some 1st Category Irregular Pattern 2 Verbs

to begin
bdu
to build
bnu
to rent
kru
to sew
gnu
to lose
jlu
to destroy
xlu
to empty
xwu
to distribute /
divide
bd
u
to relax / rest
sunfu
Some examples:
Where did you go yesterday?
mani s tddit id
gam?
Fatima lost her keys.
tjla fat
ma tisurans.
Did they build the house?
is bnan tigmmi?

is (bdu)l-xdmtnk nd urta?
)(
{ntni} (kru) yat tgmmi ilan.
.}{ )(
(jlu) l-bzt
amns.
.)(
{ntni} (xlu) tigmmi taqdimt.

nd
.}{ )(
Category, verbs beginning with i ().
To form the past tense stem from the infinitive, we drop the initial vowel and follow the general pattern
for the pattern 2 verbs.
to tell
nni
ini
nnna
tnnit
tnnam
inna
tnnamt
tnna
nnan
nnant
Some 2nd Category Irregular Pattern 2 Verbs

to want
iri
to eat
to be
ili
to be able to
ii
Some examples:
What did you eat for lunch?
ma tit imkli?
Do you want to go to the

cinema?
is tram a tddum s
s-sinima?
3rd Category, verbs beginning with a ()

To form the past tense stem, we change the initial a ( )to u ( )and follow the general pattern for the
pattern 2 verbs.
to find
ufi
af
tufit
nufa
tufam
yufa
tufamt
tufa
ufan
ufant
Some 3rd Category Irregular Pattern 2 Verbs

to tie
ass
to leave / let
aj
to cry
al
Some examples:
I found my keys.
ufi tisuranu.
Did you let him go?
Is t tujit a yddu?
She cried yesterday.
tulla id
gam.
.

.

56 talit
4th Category, verbs with a ( )in the middle

To form the past tense stem, we change the middle a ( )to u ( )and follow the general pattern for
the pattern 2 verbs.
to pray
zzal
zzuli
tzzulit
nzzula
tzzulam
izzula
tzzulamt
tzzula
zzulan
zzulant
Some 4th Category Irregular Pattern 2 Verbs

to move (sth)
smas
to swear
ggal
to move
mmas
to return (give
back)
rar
to vomit
rar
Some examples:
He returned the book to the
library.?
irura l-ktub s l-mktaba.
Did you (p) pray?
is tzzulam?
Negation
Normal Negative Form
In order to express the negative of a verb (i.e. didnt, or dont, or doesnt), we add the word ur
( )before the verb and, in some regions in Morocco, we change the a ( )in the added verb suffices
(i.e. a, am, amt, an, ant) into i (( )i.e. i, im, imt, in, int)
I slept yesterday.
I didnt sleep yesterday.
They played soccer.
They didnt play soccer.
He went to the souq.
He didnt go to the souq.
gn id
gam.
ur gn id
gam.
lbnt takurt.
ur lbt takurt.
idda s s-suq.
ur iddi s s-suq.
She didnt see her friend.
tzra amddaklns.
ur tzri amddaklns.
They ate couscous.
an sksu.
She saw her friend.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

The didnt eat couscous.
ur in sksu.
Exercise: Conjugate the verbs in parentheses in the negative form.

nkni (gn) zik, aku (i) imnsi zik.
.(
) )(
id
gam (r) l-ktabinu aku rmi.
. )(
(ddu) fat
ima s l-xdmt.
.)(
{ntni} (i) imkli aku ban.
.(
}{ )
{knni} (su) atay.
.}{ )(
Additional Negative Forms

nothing
walu
nothing
tta yat tawsa
no one (m)
tta yan
no one (f)
tta yat
only / just
bla
neiter ... nor
la ... wala
...
Some examples:
I know/knew nothing.
ur ssn walu.
I ate nothing.
ur i walu.
No one came.
tta yan urd yuki.
He saw no one.
ur izri tta yan.
I have nothing
ur dari tta yat tawsa.

ur imnaggar la assan
wala nadia.
ur i bla arum.
I met neither Hassan nor Nadia.

I ate only bread.
Exercise:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Put the verbs in parentheses in the proper form, then put the paragraphs
A thru D in the correct order

id
gam (nkr) zik s
-s
ba, (fd
r) (f).
uaras (mnaggar) amddaklinu
Brahim. {nkni} (ddu) s tagant, (xdm)
in ar tadggat (urri). d
yyd
(i)
imnsi. ntta (ddu) s tigmmins, nkki
(r) imik, (gn).
)( .( )( )
.( )( ) }{ )( .
.( ) )( )( . )(
id
gam (nkr) zik l-xmsa u ns
.
(sird) udminu d uxsaninu mn bd (ls)
l-wayjinu, (f) sba.
)( . )(
. )( )(
asggas lli izrin, (ili) mirikan

(zd) l-wilaya n New York.
tamazirtinu tmqqur bahra. (r)
l-jamia n Boston.
. )( )(
. )( .
ayur lli izrin (akid) s l-mrib.
( ) )( . )(
58 talit
(g) mutat
awwi, nkki (ur g) turist.
r-rbat
(r) imik n tarabt.
tmnya (ara) yat tabrat, mn bd
(ddu) s l-bost
a (azn) tabrat i baba.
l-ra u ns
(r) talit. l-t
na
u ns
(i) imkli.
)( .
)( )( )(
. )( . )( .
Exercise: Write a paragraph from these pictures.
Have you ever... / Ive never...

Have you ever...?
We can use the word jju ( )to express the English equivalent of the present perfect tense: Have you
ever...? and I have never...
Have you ever...?
is jju...?
I have never...
ur jju...
...
...

The verb that follows jju is always in the past tense. Some examples:
Have you ever eaten Pizza?
is jju tit l-pitza?
Have you ever gone to America? is jju tddit s mirikan?

Have they ever drunk mint tea in is jju swan atay s nna
mirikan?
America?
She has never eaten a
hamburger.
ur jju ti l-hamburger.
He have never said these things. ur jju inni ayad.
.
.
Place Adverbs d ( )and n ()
The place adverbs d and n are always attached to some verbs, and should not be confused with the
unattached conjugation d (and) or unattached preposition n (of).
The adverb d is related to the demonstrative adjective ad (this) and normally translates to here.
The adverb n is related to the demonstrative adjective an (that) and usually translates to there.
(See page 18 for examples of ad and an.)
Examples:
He sent (to here) a letter yesterday.
He sent a letter to us.
He worked in the US for two years.
yuznd yat tbrat id

gam.
yuznad yat tbrat.
ixdmn mirikan sin
isggasn.
.
.
.
In the negative, d and n are attached to the negative indicator ur ( )and are not attached to the
end of the verb.
Examples:
He didnt come in.
He didnt take anything from here.
urd ikm.
urn yusi walu id.
.
.
In questions, the adverbs are also not attached to the verbs. Rather, we attach d or n to the end of
the question words.
Examples:
Who came in?
mad ikmn?
What did he bring?
mad iwi?
What did the steal?
mad ukrn?
Did he send the money?
izd yuzn iqarid

n?
60 talit
Some verbs that always use the place adverbs:

to go out
to pass
zri
to enter
km
to send
azn
to take
asi
to empty
xwu
to work
xdm
to ask
saqsa
to steal
akr
to hang
agl
to catch
amz
to buy
to kill
to give
fk
to begin / start
bdu
Unlike other verbs, the verb ak (to come) always uses the place adverb d. Because you always use
the place adverb, you can think of this verb as meaning either to come or to come here. It is
conjugated like a pattern 2 verb, with the d following the past tense suffixes.
to come (here)
ak*
ukid
nukad
tukid
tukamd
yukad
tukamdd
tukad
ukand
ukandd
* In the imperative, we may add an i between ak and d

akid s id!
Come here!

Examples:
I came (here) to Morocco last month.
ukid s l-mrib ayyur

lli izrin.
The came (here) to Rabat to see the

doctor.
ukand s r-rbat
ba ad
zrn ad
bib.
Why did you come (here)?
max lli d tukam?
He didnt come to study.
urd yuki ba ad ir.
When ak is used with n, it roughly means to come there. For English speakers, this is confusing
since we would never use the verb come with the adverb there. In talit, the expression is used
when the subject comes (i.e. moves/goes toward another person) but the place is not near the
speaker.
to come (there)
akin
ukin
nukan
tukitn
tukamn
yukan
tukamtn
tukan
ukann
ukantn
Examples:
akn!
!
Come (to me) there!
(This is like the English meet me there and is said by someone who is not yet at the place of
meeting.)
yukn dari dris id
gam.
Driss came (to me) there yesterday.
.
(Driss came to my house (there) yesterday, but Im not at my house anymore.)
Object Pronouns
In English, we have pronouns for the subject of a sentence: I, you, he, she, we, and they. But we also
have object pronouns that we use after verbs, which can be either direct or indirect:
Direct:
He hit me.
I wrote a letter.
I saw her.
I wrote it.
or Indirect:
Ask him a question
I talked to Hassan..
We gave them some cake. I talked to him.
So far, you have learned the independent pronouns (see page 7) and the possessive pronouns (see page
8). Here are the direct and indirect object pronouns that we use after verbs in talit:
Direct Object Pronouns
Indirect Object Pronouns
me
iyyi
iyyi
you (m, s)
ak
you (f, s)
km
am
62 talit
him / it
as
her / it
tt
as
us
you (m, p)
kn
awn
you (f, p)
knt
they (m)
tn
they (f)
tnt
aknt
asn
asnt
Some examples:
I wrote a letter.
ari yat tbrat.
I wrote it.
ara tt.
I talked to Jeff.
sawl i jeff.
I talked to him.
sawl as.
I ate bread.
i arum.
I ate it.
i t.
He sent a letter to Malika and

her husband.
yuzn tabrat i malika d

urgazns.
He sent them a letter.
yuzn asn tabrat.
He sent it to them.
yuzn asn tt.
I told you not to go.
nni ak ad ur tddut.
How much did Mike pay for the

jellaba?
mnka s isa mike

tajllabit?
He bought it for 1400 ryals.
isa tt s 1400 d ryal.
Did he buy it for 1200?
is tt isa s 1200 ryal?
No, he didnt buy it for 1200

ryals.
uhu, ur tt isi s 1200

ryal.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.

. 1400

1200

. 1200

As you can see, when both object pronouns occur in the same sentence, the indirect object pronoun
comes first. When a verb is made negative, the object pronoun comes between ur and the verb.
You saw me.
tzrit iyyi.
You didnt see me.
ur iyyi tzrit.
Did you see Dalal and Hamid?
is tzrit amid d dalal?
No, I didnt see them.
uhu, ur tn zri.
.

.

.
Exercise: Replace the underlined nouns by the corresponding pronouns.

1. fki yan l-kad
o i nadia.
2. swi aman.
. .1
. .2
3. tqn fatima tiwallins.
. .3
4. iswwa Mohamed igran.
. .4
5. znzi t
-t
omobil i driss.
. .5
6. is tzrit l-film lli f ak sawl?
.6
7. ifka jamal yan l-ktab i assan.
. .7

8. ttun tisuransn tigmmi.
9. iawn xalid gmak l-sab.
. .8
. .9
Question Words
Some of these you already know. Some will be new for you.
where is
manza
Where is your husband?
manza argaznnm?
Where is the house of Omar?
manza tigmmi n omar?
where
mani
Where are you going?
mani trit?
Where did you eat pizza?
mani tit l-pitza?
what
ma
What did you do yesterday?
ma tskrm id
gam?
What did you tell the director?
ma tnnit i l-mudir?
how
mamnk / manik
How are you?
mamnk a tgit?
How did you come?
manik as tukit?
when
manuk / managu
When did it rain?
manuk id
r unzar?
When did he say this?
managu inna ayad?
why
max lli
Why did you steal?
max lli tukrt?
Why were they late?
max lli mat

ln?
whose (m)
win mit
Whose book is this?
win mit iga l-ktab ad?
whose (f)
tin mit
Whose cow is this?
tin mit tga tfunast ad?
on what
maf
On what did you put the glass?
maf isrs l-kas?
where in
ma
Where (in) did you put the

water?
ma tgit aman?
Where is his house?
ma tlla tgmmins?
with what
mas
How (with what) did you open

the door?
mas trzmt tiflut?
with whom
madda
With whom did you talk?
madda tsawlm?
64 talit
Whit whom did you eat dinner?
madda tit imnsi?
to whom
mamu / mami
To whom did you give the car?
mamu tfkit ttobobil?
is...?, are...?
is / izd
Do you want couscous?
is trit sksu?
Is he traveling tomorrow?
is ra ysafr askka?
Is it you or she?
izd kyyi nd nttat?
which
man
who
ma

/

/

The verb following these question words takes a participle form in the past (see p. 160)
Who hit this boy?
ma yutn afrux ad?
Who took the money?
ma yumzn iqarid
n?
Which people went to the souq?
man midn iddan s s-suq?
Which woman prepared lunch?
man tamart iskrn imkli?
which one / who (m, s)
manwa
which one / who (f, s)
manta
which one / who (m, p)
manwi
which one / who (f, p)
manti
Which one do you want?
manwa trit?
Who (m, p) went to the forest?
manwi iddan s tagant?
how much / how many
mnk / mnka
The question word mnk ( )may be followed by the preposition n ().

mnk n l-wqt?
How much time?
mnk n l-ktub?
How many books?
How much is this shirt?
mnk l-qamija yad?
How much did you pay for

them?
mnk as tn tsit?
Daily Routines
talk about your daily activities using the present tense
use one verb after another to express complex thoughts
give commands with the imperative
Present Tense
In talit, the present tense normally expresses both habitual and progressive actions.
habitual action:
I eat couscous every Friday.
progressive action: I am eating couscous now.
It is difficult to set up rules for the formation of the present tense. It is merely a matter of practice and
use. Generally, a verb in the present consist of ar* (), which is the present indicator, and the
imperative continuous as it stem. To this construction we add prefixes and suffixes.
* In Ourzazate, the present indicator is da ().
to eat
infinitive / imperative simple
keep eating
tta
imperative continuous
I am eating
ar tta
you are eating
ar tttat
he is eating
ar itta
she is eating
ar ttta
we are eating
ar ntta
you are eating (m, p)
ar tttam
you are eating (f, p)
ar tttamt
they are eating (m)
ar ttan
they are eating (f)
ar ttant
66 talit
Examples:
Infinitive / Imerative Simple
Impertative Continuous
to drink
su
ssa
to play
lb
tlab
to work
xdm
txdam
to like
jb
tjab
to go
ddu
to have breakfast
fd
r
tddu
Do you play Soccer?
Is ar tlabt takurt?
No, I dont play soccer.
uhu, ura tlab takurt.

urasul
He doesnt drink coffee

anymore.
urasul issa l-qhwa.
She doesnt travel a lot

anymore.
urasul tsafar bahra.
tfd
ar
To negate the present tense, we use ura( ) before the actual verb.
ura sawal tarabt.
I dont speak Arabic.
ura txdam as l-dd.
She doesnt work on Sundays.
anymore
.
.

.
.
.
Time Expressions
always
sometimes
once a ...
Bdda/dayman
lbd
n twal/kra n
tikkal
yan d-dur /
yat tiklt
/
/
/
once a year
yan d-dur usggas
once a month
yan d-dur wayyur
everyday
kra ygat as
on (day of the week)
as n ...
on Saturday
as n s-sbt
every ...
kra ygat ... / kul ...
every morning
kra ygat s
-s
ba
every Friday
kra ygat l-jam
now
ila / ilad/dik
at this time
l-wqt ad

...

... / ...
/ /

Some examples:
ar isawal tim talit
mzyan.
ar tssa ia l-lib kra
Acha drinks milk every morning. ygat s
-s
ba.
Tim speaks talit well.
.
.

Malika and her husband travel
to England every year.
I dont eat fish.
malika d urgazns ar
tsafarn s ngliz kra ygat
asggas.
ur ar tta islman.

.
.
Exercise: Answer the following sentences (based on the examples above) in the
negative.
1. is a ysawal tim tarabt mzyan?
2. is a tssa ia atay kra ygat
s
-s
ba?
3. is a tsafar malika d urgazns s
fransa kra ygat asggas?
4. is ar tta sksu?
.1
.2
.3
Exercise: Describe in the present tense the following activities.
.4
68 talit
Using One Verb after Another

Sometimes, we use one verb directly after another. This is true in English:
I want to read.
He likes to cook.
We forgot to call you.
She began to study yesterday.
As the examples show, in English we use the infinitive after a verb (to read, to cook, to call, to study).
But in talit, as you recall, there is actually no infinitive for verbs (see page 49). Instead, we use the
imperative with past prefixes and suffixes of pattern 1 verbs proceeded by ad ( )This
will serve as the equivalent of the English infinitive when we use one verb after another.
Notice
that t and
n
assimilate
the d. i.e.
d+t=t
d+n=n
I want to go.
ri ad ddu.
You want to go.
trit a tddut.
He wants to go.
ira ay ddu.
She wants to go.
tra a tddu.
We want to go.
nra a nddu.
You want to go.
tram a tddum.
They want to go. (m)
ran ad ddun.
They want to go. (f)
rant ad ddunt.
Some more examples:
He helped him plow the fields.
ar tmnna ad sawl
talit mzyan.
iawn t ay krz igrans.
She forgot to bring her book.
tttu a tawi l-ktabns.
I hope to speak talit well.
.
.
.
Used with Other Expressions

This same construction is used after other words and expressions. The most important of these is ba
(). This word is the equivalent of the English in order to. Some examples:
Malika went to the post office
in order to send a letter.
tdda malika s l-bos

t
a
ba a tazn yat tbrat.
I went to Agaidr in order

to see my friend.
ddi s ugadir ba ad zr
amddaklinu.

.
.
70 talit
Exercise: Combine the following words into sentences, using the proper conjugations
of verbs and pronouns.
1. Hayat / ddu / s l-bos
t
a / ba / s / lakart
n t-tilifun.
2. ntta / iri / ddu / s mirikan / ba / r.
3. nkki / akid / s l-mrib / ba / awn / midns / ssn tn / ula ntni / ad /
ssn {nkki} / mzyan.
The Imperative
The imperative is used to give commands: Go to the store! Open the window! Study talit! The
positive imperative tells someone to do something, the negative imperative tells someone not to do
something.
In the following table, all the examples are equal to the English command, Speak!
you (m, f, s)
you (m, p)
you (f, p)
sawl
sawlat
sawlamt
When a verb ends with a vowel, we insert ybefore the actual verb instead of i
to say / tell
ini
you (m, f, s)
ini
you (m, p)
inyat
you (f, p)
inyamt
To negate the imperative, we can use adur ( )or awr ()before the verb:
Dont go!
Dont speak!
Dont close the window!
adur tddut!
adur tsawlt!
adur tqnt rjm!
!
!
!
Exercise: Put the verbs between parentheses in correct form, then arrange the
sentences in the correct order.
A. (ls) l-wayjinu
B. (ssird) udminu d uxsaninu, mn bd (snkr)
tarwa.
C. nkki (nkr) s-sba.
D. tadggat (tqdda) nd (xmml) tigmmi.
E. nkki (xdm) ar l-t
na u ns
mn bd (i)
imkli.
F. (ssujd) l-fd
ur.
G. nkni (i) imnsi kullutn.
H. nkki ur (gn) ar l-d
a.
I. nkki (amz) t
-t
ubis t-tmnya ba (ddu) s
l-xdmt.
J. tarwa (gn) t-tsud.
.)(
. )( )(
. )(
. )( )(
. )( )(
.)(
. )(
. )(
)( )(
.
. )(
Exercise: Put the verb in parenthesis in the correct form, then answer the questions.
Pat
dari yan umu isms Pat. l-bd
n twal {netta} (ddu) s igran (uwws
). Pat
ur (i) irdayn ula ibxxuyn. (su) l-lib, (i) ir s-srdin. Pat (rmi)
bahra. (gn) l-fdur ar imkli. waxxa irmi Pat ({ntta} wnns {nkki}).
(mun) didi aynna s ddi. i ({nkki} gn), ({ntta} lb) s l-ktubinu.
ila Pat, walaynni ur t miln wadjarn, ({ntni} ut) ur as akkan walu. yan
was (f) Pat (wws), (lb) aylli irmi. md bd, (ddu) s taman yat tajrt
(gn). imik (akid) yan urgaz (bbi) tajrt. ur izri Pat. yusi aglzim ar
ikkat CHOK... CHOK... CHOK!!!
Pat (gn, warga), ur issn aylli t tut tajrt. immut Pat igllin. ({nkki}
md
l {Pat}) taman ijddign lli ar itlab kraygat as. Ursar t ttu aku
izza dari behra.
Questions
1. max lli a yggan Pat bzzaf?
2. mas itlab Pat?
3. is izra Pat argaz? max?
4. max lli ar itddu Pat s igran?
5. mad itta Pat?
6. max lli ign Pat ddaw tajrt?
72 talit
Bargaining
bargain for basic items, such as clothing
describe the colors of items
use masculine, feminine, and plural adjectives correctly
describe differences between objects using the comparative and superlative
Bargaining
General Bargaining Information
In Morocco, bargaining is a part of life. It can sometimes be tiring for people not used to it, but with
some cultural and language skills, it can become much easier. Some information about bargaining can
also make the process simpler.
First of all, you need to know what items should be bargained for, and what items normally have fixed
prices, even for Moroccans. This is not always easy to determine, since the place where you buy some
things may determine whether the price is fixed or not. For example, some items that are sold at fixed
prices in a tanut (e.g. laundry soap, vegetables, eggs) may be bargained for in the souq or from a
street vendor. Ask your host family or watch other Moroccans in order to find out. Here are some
general guidelines for whether prices are fixed or not:
Usually Bargained For
any article of clothing

any household or kitchen utensil, appliance,
or furniture
rent for a house or apartment
taxi fares on unscheduled runs
anything bought in a souk (e.g. grains in
bulk, animals, rugs, etc.)
anything bought from a street vendor who
has no regular shop
petit taxi fares if the meter does not work
anything used or second-hand
domestic help and services (maid, plumber,
electrician, etc. Determine the price before
the work is done.)
Seldom Bargained For
things which are literally bought every day:

mint, parsley, bread, coriander
refill on a butagas
cigarettes and alcohol
meals or beverages in restaurants
bus fares between scheduled stops
taxi fares on regular runs
price-controlled staple foods: sugar, oil, tea,
flour, milk, butter, etc.
anything bought in a pharmacy
meat and vegetables, if the price per kilo is
posted
school supplies
It is also good to be aware of some of the standard tactics that are used between the buyer and the seller
in Morocco. If you watch Moroccans, you will see many of these.
The Buyers Tactics
not showing too much enthusiasm for buying

walking away when the seller has named the
lowest price
pointing out defects in the merchandise
quoting a lower price for an identical item in
another shop
claiming not to have enough money to meet
the seller's lowest price
complimenting or flattering the seller (on his
shop, merchandise, children, friendliness)
The Sellers Tactics
not showing too much enthusiasm for selling

turning away when the buyer has named the
highest price
noting the superior quality in the merchandise
insisting that goods in other shops are not of
the same quality
claiming that in selling at the buyers highest
price he would be taking a loss
complimenting or flattering the buyer (on his
or her language ability, friendliness, expertise
in bargaining)
The Buyers Tactics
acting insulted by the sellers price

arguing that the difference between the
sellers price and the price offered is
insignificant; i.e. the seller should come
down to the offered price
pulling out one's money as if the offered price
has been agreed upon
The Sellers Tactics
acting insulted by the buyers offer

arguing that the difference between the
buyers price and his price is insignificant and
the buyer should come up
wrapping up the purchase as if the asking

price has been agreed upon
When you are looking to buy an item that you know you will have to bargain for, there are a few things
that you should probably try to avoid. These include:
showing too much interest in, or too great a need for, a particular item
carrying large sums of money, carrying expensive, previously-bought items, looking like a tourist
having no idea what an item is really worth, or what is a fair price for that type of item
being in a hurry
buying with a guide (he gets a percentage of what you pay)
Always be prepared to pay a price you have named. Do not get too far into bargaining for something if
you do not intend to buy it. If you are not clear on the currency in which you are bargaining (i.e. ryals),
proceed slowly. In the end, dont let a bargaining scenario ruin your day. Most of us go unbothered by
the sometimes huge markups on big-ticket items in America, yet we can be easily frustrated by a
Moroccan merchant who makes an extra dollar or two off of us. Remember that ones peace of mind is
worth something, too.
Bargaining Expressions
Its too expensive!
ila / tla bzzaf!
Lower the price.
naqs
wiya.
Give me a good price.
dl didi t-taman.
I wont add even a ryal.
ur adak zayd tta yat

tarryalt.
I wont add anything.
ura dak zayd walu.
Its too much for me.
ila flli.
A good price.
t-taman idln.
Whats the last price?
mad igan t-taman

amggaru?
How much will I get it for?
smnk asraytflt?
Thats what I have (money)!
ayad ad dari!
Thats my last price!
wad ad igan
t-tamaninu!
! /
.
.
.
.
.
.
!
!
74 talit
Clothing
Clothing Vocabulary
clothes
l-wayj /ihdumn
2
3
11
10
16
15
14
17
13
12
18
20
19
1. sifit
ma
2. djean
3. s-srwal
4. qamija ns
kmm
11. fista
12. tjakit
a
13. pijama
14. l-kbbut
5. qamija
15. s
s
mt
a
6. grafat
16. triko ns kmm
7. jili
17. ort
8. kustim
18. -an
9. triko
19. slip
20. s
aya
10. triko col v
13
11
14
12
10
20
18
15
16
19
17
1. l-kswa
11. sbrdila
2. z-zif
12. butyu
3. tajllabit
13. s
bbat
4. l-fuqiya
14. s
ndala
5. liba
15. l-mayat
6. sutyanat
8. -abbu /
-t
t
rbu
16. l-xatm
7. ligat
17. tixrsin
18. iqqin/tzra
9. t
agiya
19. tislslt
10. tqar
20. md
l
Clothing Expressions
Give me size ... please.
fkiyyi n-nmra... afak.
Try this one on.
arm wad / xttad.
Do you want another color?
is trit kra n l-lun

yad
nin?
I prefer this color.
ri l-lun ad.
It goes well with you.
tukad didak / didam.
Colors
colors
l-lwan
. ...
. /

.
. /
Masculine Singular
Feminine Singular
Masculine Plural
Feminine Plural
white
umlil
tumlilit
umliln
tumlilin
black
asggan
tasggant
isggan
tisgganin
76 talit
green
azgzaw
yellow
awra
tawrat
red
azgga
tazggat
blue
azrqi
awrdi
pink
brown
tazgzawt
tizgzawin
iwran
tiwrain
izggan
tizggain
tazrqit
izrqin
tizrqiyin
tawrdit
iwrdin
tiwrdin
izgzawn
afanidi
tafanidit
ifanidin
tifanidiyin
aqhwiy
taqhwit
iqhwin
tiqhwiyin
Dialogue
Dan: s-salamu alaykum.
.
:
Msud: wa alaykum s-salam.
.
:
Dan: is llant kra n tjlluba?

llant. man n-nmra
Msud:
atlssat?
ur ssn, kra n yat
Dan:
tagaddanu.
arm xttad. tbark l-lah
Msud:
tukad didk nian.
Dan: is gis l-lun yad
nin?
Msud: yah, illa gis uzgzaw,
umlil d asggan.
ri ad arm tumlilt
Dan:
afak.
Msud: waxxa, hak a sidi.
:
. :
. :
. . :
:
.
:
. :
. :
Dan: mnk a tga xttad?
Msud: xttad tga 8000 ryal.

Dan: tla bzzaf, radak fk
3000 ryal.
Msud: uhu, tnaqqst
bzzaf. awit
s 7000 ryal.
uhu, ur tnaqst walu.
Dan:
bslama.
Msud: akid, akid. fkiyyi
6000 ryal.
Dan: radak fk 3500 ryal. i
ur trit s
afi.
. 8000 :
. 3000 . :
. 7000
. :
. . :
. 6000 . :
. . 3500 :
. . 3500 :
Msud: ara 3500 ryal. ihnna

l-al.
Exercise: Read the text and answer the questions.

ssad, sada dars t-ts
bin iggutn:
l-qmija tumlilt n urgazns. djin d
djakit
a n yiws. l-kswa tazggat d lliba tawrat n illis l-bbijama
tazrqit d z-zif armadi n sada.
1. tin mit tga l-qamija tumlilt?
2. tin mit tga djakit
a d djin?
:
. .
.
.
.1
.2

3. man l-lun tga l-kswan illis n
sada?
4. man l-lun tga l-ppijama d z-zif n
sada?
.3

78 talit
Exercise: Write a dialogue for the following pictures. Try to write it without looking at
the previous pages.
2
Adjectives
In talit, adjectives are conjugated the same way as verbs. They take the past tense pattern 1. They
can come either before or after the noun they modify. Here are some examples:
This city is big.
tamdint ad tmqqur.
This flour is good.
ifulki aggurn ad.
These clothes are wet.
ihdumn ad ud
rn.
These cows are dirty.
rkant tifunasin ad.
Common Adjectives
Masculine Singular
Feminine Singular
Masculine Plural
Feminine Plural
Pretty
ila
tla
lan
lant
bad /
ugly
ixn
txn
xn
xnt
Happy
ifr
tfr
frn
frnt
Clean
inqqi
tnqqi
inqqin
nqqint
Dirty
irka
trka
rkan
rkant
Late
imat
l
tmat
l
matlnt
Hard
iqqa
tqqa
qqan
qqant
Lazy
irxa
trxa
rxan
rxant
Full
immr
tmmr
mmrn
mmrnt
Empty
ixwa
txwa
xwan
xwant
Tall
izzif
tzzif
zzifn
zzifnt
Short
igzzul
tgzzul
gzzuln
gzzulnt
Spicy
irra
trra
rran
rrant
Crazy
inufl
tnufl
nufln
nuflnt
a lot /
much
iggut
tggut
ggutn
ggutnt
Rare
idrus
tdrus
drusn
drusnt
small /
young
imzziy
tmzziy
mzziyn
mzziynt
big /
old
imqqur
tmqqur
mqqurn
mqqurnt
Soft
ilgga
tlgga
lggan
lggant
Harsh
iqqur
tqqur
qqurn
qqurnt
dry
izwa
tzwa
zwan
zwant
wet
yud
r
tud
r
ud
rn
ud
rnt
delicious
immim
mmimn
mmimnt
good
ifulki
fulkin
fulkint
wide
yus
usan
usant
tmmim
tfulki
tus
matln
80 talit
narrow
/ tight
idiyq
expensiv
e
ila
tla
heavy
izzay
tzzay
light
ifssus
old
iqdm
tqdm
qdmn
qdmnt
heavy /
strong
is
a
ts
a
an
s
ant
s
weak
id
f
td
f
fn
d
fnt
d
clear
is
fa
ts
fa
fan
s
fant
s
hot
ira
tra
ran
rant
cold
ikrm
tkrm
krmn
krmnt
tdiyq
diyqn
diyqnt
lan
lant
zzayk
zzaynt
tfssus
fssusn
fssusnt
To negate an adjective, we use ur (). If the adjective normally ends with a (), it changes to i
(). eg:
ila: ur ili
:
asggas ad assif ur izwi
.
This year, the river in my village
tmazirtinu.
did not dry.
Are there a lot of volunteer in
Morocco?
Exercise:
is ggutn l-mtat
awwiin
l-mrib?
Describe the following pictures using adjectives.

1. l-kmmad igzul.
6
4
3
11
2. l-kmm ad _______.
7
10
8
12
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative Adjectives
We use comparative adjectives when we are comparing two objects based upon some quality or
characteristic. For example, in English we can say: I am taller than John. Taller than is the
comparative form of the adjective tall.
In talit, the comparative form is derived by adding f( )to the adjective. For example, I am taller
than John translates to zzif f John. here are some examples:
Tajine is more delicious than
couscous.
-t
t
ajin immim f sksu.
This house is older than this

one.
tigmmi ad tqdm f xttad.
.
.
.
Ifrane is colder than Ouarzazate. ifran ikrm f warzazat.
Besides f (), there are three other comparison words that are used depending on the comparison
type. They are conjugated in the past tense just as pattern 1 verbs (see page 49):
1. af* (): to be better than (quality)
2. ati (): more than, (quantity)
3. agr (): more than (size, dimension and age)
1. af*
( quality)
Cow milk is better than powdered l-lib n tfunast yuf

l-lib n l-bra.
milk.
ayyisnk yuf winu.
Your horse is better than mine.
Meat is better than bread.
.
.
tifiyyi tuf arum.
tiad
ininu ufnt tink.
My goats are better than yours.
*Not to be confused with the verb af ( )to find.
2. ati
( quantity)
In Jam l-fna, there are more

foreigners than people from
Marrakech.
jam l-fna ibrranin

utin imrrakin.
He has more sheep than I do.
wllins utint tinu.
We have more horses than he

does.
ysan utin wins.
3. agr
.
.
.
( size, dimension, age)
I am older than my sister.
nkki ugr ultma.
This frying pan is bigger than this

l-mqlayad tugr xttad.
one.
These roads are larger than
these ones.
iarasn ad ugrn wid.
.
.
.
Comparing Like Objects

In order to express that two things/people/etc. are the same size, dimension and/or age, we use
unk n () . The same / alike is zund zund ( ) or kif kif () .
82 talit
bhal bhal
Some examples:
My brother is the same age as
this boy.
gma ank n ufrux ad

l-mr.
This swimming pool is the same

size as that one.
l-ppisin ad akn wan.
Which is better: a blue or a

green shirt?
ma yufn: l-qamija
tazrqiyt nd taxd
rit?
Theyre the same.
zund zund / kif kif.
.
.
:
. /
As the example shows, the word yma ( )is used for comparisons when we mean which.
Superlative Adjectives
The superlative adjective in talit can be formed by conjugating the adjective in the third person
masculine singular (past tense) and adding n ( )to the end of the adjective (see participle page 155)
and inserting a(d) before the adjective.
ntta inqa.
.
He is clean
ntta a ynqan.
.
He is the cleanest.
She is the most beautiful.
nttat a ylan.
Exercise: Compare each pair using comparative adjectives.

-t
t
omobil n Mary
-t
t
omobil n Mike
Driss
Hassan
tigmmi n Mohamed
-klat
tigmmi n Judy
arum
84 talit
Exercise: Answer the following questions based upon the drawing.

d-dlla
l-banan
ad
il
1. ma ylan: ad
il nd l-banan?
: .1
2. ma yrxs
n: d-dlla nd ad
il?
: .2
3. ma yufn: d-dlla nd l-banan?
: .3
4. ma yzid
n: d-dlla nd ad
il?
: .4
5. izd ad
il a ylan f l-banan?
.5
6. ma yrxs
n l-fakit ad?
.6
Shopping For Food

shop for produce, meats, and spices
Fruits and Vegetables

At the Green Grocers
dar bu l-xd
rt
10
8
9
12
11
14
13
18
20
19
16
17
zucchini
15
vegetables
1. xizu
2. -iflur
3. lquq
4. bat
at
a
5. ififl
6. d-dnjal
l-xod
ra
11. ibawn
12. l-fjl
13. txsayt
14. tiskrt
15. azalim
16. l-barba
17. tirkmin
8. mat
ia
18. l-mkuwr
9. j-jlbana
19. l-lubya
10. l-krafs
20. taxsayt
parsley
l-mdnus
7. lxyar
quince
s-sfrjl
gourd
aslawi
mint
n-nna
okra
l-mluxiya
absinth
-iba
coriander
l-qs
bur
verbena
l-lwiza
86 talit
l-fakiha
fruit
1. ad
il
9. buwid
2. l-limun
3. t-tfa
10. t-tut
11. lavoka
4. l-friz
12. lananas
5. l-brquq
13. d-dlla
6. l-banan
14. b l-mluk
7. l-xux
15. -hdiya
Japanese plums l-mza
l-kiwi
8. l-amd
pomegranate
r-rmman
apricots
l-mma
kiwi
Buying Produce
Units of Measurement
scale
l-mizan
gram
gram
kilogram
kilu
kilogram
Rubu kilu
kilogram
ns
kilu
kilogram
kilu lla rob
2 kilograms
juj kilu
Expressions
Give me a kilo of ...
fkiyyi kilu n...
Weigh me ...
briyyi...
Give me some ...
fkiyyi kra n...
More ... please
zaydiyyi imik n...

afak.
How much is a kilo of ... ?
mnk a yskar kilu n...?
What do you need?
mak / makm ixs

s
an?
What else?
dmit sul / dmit yad

ni?
I need ...
ixs
s
ayyi...
No, thats enough. Only 1 kilo,

thats all!
uhu, baraka. ir kilu

afi!
s
...
...
...
. ...
...
/
/
...
! .
88 talit
Dialogue
l-mqdit
shopping
Melody: s-salam ualaykum
:
walaykum s-salam, ma
bu l-xd
rt:

:
yra l-xat
r a lalla?
Melody: ri juj kilu n bat
at
a, d :
kilu namt
ia, d ns
kilu
.
n l-barba. xt
ariyyi kra
. ...
ylan
afak... briyyi kilu u
rba n uzalim.
bu l-xd
rt: s
afi a lalla?
:
Melody: mnk t-tffa?
:
a ldrhm.
bu l-xd
rt: xmst
t
Melody: waxxa, briyi kilu
uns
...ttu, fkiyi kra
l-qzbur d l-mdnus.
bu l-xd
rt: hak a lalla.
Melody: mnka yga l-xir ad.
bu l-xd
rt: tsmiyya u sttin ryal a
lalla.
Melody: mnk n d-drahm?
bu l-xd
rt: tmnya u rbin drhm.
hak a sidi, ak iawn
Melody:
rbbi.
bu l-xd
rt: llay xlf a lalla.
. :
... :
.
.
:
. :
.
:
:
. :
. :
.
:
Spices and Meat

Spices
Salt
tisnt
turmeric
l-xrqum
black pepper
l-bzar
hot pepper
tififlt
irran
Ginger
skinjbir
red hot pepper
tasudanit
Cumin
l-kammun
cloves
l-qrunfl
cinnamon
l-qrfa
basil
l-baq
oregano
azuknni
paprika
t-tmira
nutmeg
l-guza
saffron
z-zfran
At the Butchers
butcher
agzzar
Meat
tifiiyyi /
tifiyya
Lamb
l-nmi
Beef
l-bgri
goat meat
l-mzi
Liver
tasa
Ground meat
l-kfta
meat w/o
bones
l-hbra
chicken
afullus
Exercise: You have guests for dinner and you want to serve them tea with cakes, then
a tajine. List the items you need for preparing tea/cakes and a tajine and
write your shopping list. Then, write a shopping list for an American dish.
90 talit
Food and Drink

use the correct words and expressions concerning food and drink
express likes and dislikes using jb / zza to please
express necessity or obligation with xs
s
to need / to have to
use iri to want / to like with the proper tense
Food and Drink

Food
Food
l-makla /
tirmt
Breakfast
l-fd
ur
Lunch
fish
islman
beans
l-lubya
imkli
lentils
l-ds
Dinner
imnsi
chick peas
l-mms
/
l-imz
Tajine
-t
t
ajin
steamed pasta with

cinnamon and sugar
s-sffa
vermicelli
-riya
Moroccan
soup
tarirt
Salad
French fries
lad
a /
alad
a
l-frit /
bat
at
a
iqlin
Olives
z-zitun
vegetable
soup
-s
s
ubba
Bastila
l-bst
ila
rice
r-ruz
couscous
sksu
pizza
l-ppitza
Meat
Chicken
tifiyya /
tifiyyi
afullus /
aiaw
At a Caf
the waiter
l-garsun
black coffee
l-qhwa tasggant
half coffee, half milk
qhwa ns
ns
hot milk
l-lib iran
weak coffee
l-qhwa ixfifn
strong coffee
l-qhwa iqsn
coffee with a little milk
qhwa mhrsa
orange juice
as
ir
l-limun
apple & milk shake
as
ir n t-tfa
banana & milk shake
as
ir n l-banan
Almond & milk shake
as
ir n l-luz
pot of tea
l-brrad n watay
glass of tea
l-kas n watay
... with mint
... s n-nna
...
Not very sweet.
adur izid bzzaf.
Some sugar, please.
imik n s-skkar, afak.
a glass of cold water
yan l-kas n waman brdin
.
.

At a Restaurant
the menu
l-minu
Please bring me ...
afak awiyyid...
Do you have ... ?
is darun...?
What do you have?
ma ddarun...?
Is there any food without meat?

I want a tajine without meat.
...
...
...
is tlla kra n l-makla

bla tifiyya?
ri yan t
-t
ajin bla
tifiyya.
What do you have for dessert?
ma ddarun d-disir?
We want a table for (four

people).
nra yat t
-t
bla n (rba
n middn).
Outside
brra
Inside
agns
The bill, please.
l-sab afak.
To your health.
b s
-s
a.
To your health (response).
l-lay t
ik s
-s
a.
How do you like the food?
is tla l-makla?
I have no complaints.
ur dari mad nni.
The food is delicious.
tmmim / tat
fut.

.( )
.
.
.
. /
Dialogue
Chris d Amy r-ristura
l-garsun: mrbabikum.
Chris: ukran. is tlla kra n
-t
t
bla n sin middn?
l-garsun: tlla, mani tram a
tggawrm?
Chris: nra yat t
-t
bla taman
s-srjm.
l-garsun: ma tram a tm?
Amy: ma ddarun?
l-garsun: ha l-minu.
Amy: nkki ri -lad
a d sksu
s l-nmi.
l-garsun: waxxa a lalla. ima

. :
:

.
:
. :
:
:
. :
. :
.
:
92 talit
kiyyi a sidi?
Chris: nkki ar tta ir

l-xd
rt, is tlla kra n

l-makla bla tifiyya?
l-garsun: iyyah! tlla l-lubya.
.
!
Chris: waxxa. awiyyid -lad
a
.
d yan t
-t
bsil n l-lubya.
.
l-garsun: is tram a tsum kra?

nkki ri yat kuka
Amy:
.
ibrrdn.
Chris: nkki ri ir aman afak.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris: l-sab afak.
.
l-garsun: 70 drhm.
. 70
Chris: hak a sidi.
.
l-garsun: lla yxlf. is kn tjb
.
l-makla?
Amy/Chris: tmmim, tjba bzzaf.
.
l-garsun: b s
-s
a u r-raa.
.
Amy/Chris: lla yt
ik s
-s
a.
.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
1
.2
.3
.4
.5
mani s tdda imi d kris?

mad an?
is swan kra? mad swan?
mnk ad xls
n?
is tn tjb l-makla?
The Reflexive verb to please / to like

In talit, it is not common to say, literally, I like something. Rather, we use the construction,
Something pleases me. In reality, this phrase would translate into the English I like something, but
what is important is that you understand that the person who likes is actually the object of the
sentence, and the thing liked is the subject. At first, it will seem backward; in fact, it is (from an
English speakers perspective). In time you will use this construction naturally.
How to Conjugate to please

The verb to please is jb. It can be tricky to conjugate because, as we said, the subject of the verb is
actually the object that is liked, and the object is the person who likes. Thus, if I want to say, He
likes them, I literally need to say, They please him. Also, as a result of this, the verb must always
agree in gender and number with the subject, that is, the thing liked. The verb uses the
past tense, but it may have a present meaning. The conjugation of the verb can be outlined in the
following manner:
Subject Verb
ijb (m, s)
tjb (f, s)
jbn (m, p)
jbnt (f, p)
Object
Pronouns
iyyi
k
km
t
tt
a
kn
knt
tn
tnt

Some examples:
It (m, s) pleases me.
(i.e. I like it.)
ijbiyyi
I like couscous
ijbiyyi sksu
It (f, s) pleases us.

(i.e. We like it.)
tjba
We like this story
tjba l-qis
t ad.
They (f, p) please you.

(i.e. You like them (it plural).)
jbntk
You like these stovetops.

Do you like buttermilk?
jbntk takatin ad.

is k ijb uu?
uhu, ur iyyi ijb.

No, I dont.
.
Notice that in questions and negations, the object pronouns (iyyi, k, km...) are placed before the verb.
Present Tense Examples

When jb is conjugated in the present tense, it means that something was/is always liked. I can be
conjugated in the following manner:
Present Tense
Indicator
Direct Object
Pronouns
iyyi
k
km
t
tt
a
kn
knt
tn
tnt
ar / da
Subject (the thing liked)

& the verb tjab
itjab (m, s)
tjb (f, s)
tjabn (m, p)
tjabnt (f, p)
jb with masculine singular subject

He likes tea.
ar t itjab watay
They like tajine
ar tn itjab t
-t
ajin.
I like chocolate.
ar iyyi itjab -klat

.
jb with feminine singular subject

ar iyyi tjab batata
I like French fries.
iqlin.
is a k tjab l-munada?
Do you like soda?
94 talit
ur a tt tjab l-birra.
She doesnt like beer.
jb with masculine plural subject

Do you (p) like kids?
is a kn tjabn d-drari?
Yes, we like them.
iyyah, ar a tjabn.
He likes books.
ar t tjabn l-ktub.

.
.
jb with feminine plural subject

I like small goats.
ar iyyi tjabnt tiad

in.
Do you (p) like the village

women?
is a kn tjabnt timarin
n udwwar?
We dont like them.
ur a tjabnt.
jb Followed by Another Verb

When jb is followed by another verb, it is conjugated in the present tense and always takes the
masculine singular form itjab. The second verb is in the infinitive but follows the general pattern
of Pattern 1 verbs and is preceded by ad (( )see page 49).
ar iyyi itjab ad lb
takurt.
ur a tt itjab at tfaq
zik.
I like to play soccer.

She doesnt like to wake up
early.
What do you like to do on the
weekend?
We like to listen to music.
Ma k itjabnat tskrt
l-wikind?
ar a itjab an nsfld i
l-musiqa.
.
.

.
izza dar
izza dar does not only mean to like something, but also to love something or somebody. It is
always conjugated in the past with present meaning. The pronoun referring to the subject is prefixed
or suffixed to izza.
Subject Verb
izza
tzza
zzan
zzant
(m, s)
(f, s)
(m, p)
(f, p)
Object
Pronouns
dari
dark
darm
dars
darn
darun
darunt
darsn
darsnt
I like Isabella
tzza dari isabilla.
Do you like popcorn?
is darun zzant tirufin?
They like frogs.
zzan darsn igra.
To negate izza dar, we use ur and the final a changes to i.
.

.

S/he does not like buttermilk.
ur dars izzi agu.
They dont like Ahmed
ur darsn izzi amd.
.
.
96 talit
Exercise: Make correct sentences using jb.

km
is
nk
tjb
l-xdmt
tt
iyyah
n
nun
tjb
a.
tn.
t.
Exercise: Make as many sentences (affirmative and negative) as you can with jb or
izza dar using these pictures.
Suzy
Ahmed
Ronny
&
Nancy
Aicha
The Verb to need, to have to, must,

should
The verb xs
s
a ( )translates into all of the following in English: to need or to have to or must
or should. It is conjugated by adding the object pronouns (see page 61) to the end of the verb. It is
conjugated in the past tense but has a present meaning:
Subject Verb
Object
Pronouns
ixs
s
a
txs
s
a
xs
s
an
xs
s
ant
(m,
(f,
(m,
(f,
s)
s)
p)
p)
iyyi
k
km
t
tt
a
kn
knt
tn
tnt
When xs
s
a is followed by a noun, it only means to need.
I need yeast.
txs
s
a yyi txmirt.
I need eggs.
xs
s
ant iyyi tglay.
I need medicine
ixs
s
a yyi d-dwa.
Like other reflexive verbs, xs

s
a can be followed by another verb and it means have to, must or
should.
You have to go.
ixs
s
a yyi a tllm
talit mzyan.
ixs
s
a km a takt
l-wqt.
ixs
s
a k a tddut.
You shouldnt drive.
ur k ixs
s
a a ts
ugt.
I have to learn talit well.

You should be on time.
ixs
s
a k ur ts
ugt.
Exercise:
.
.
.
.
.
Write the expressions that go along with these signs using the verb xs
s
a.
Exercise: Answer the following question in talit.

ma k ixs
s
an a tskrt ba a tgt
mutat
awwi injn?
98 talit
The Verb to want, to like

The verb iri translates into the English to want and to like. When conjugated in the past tense,
the verb expresses to want, but with a present tense meaning (see page 65). When conjugated in the
present tense, the verb expresses to like, also with a present tense meaning. An example:
I like mint tea.
ar ttiri atay s
n-nna.
When the verb is used with object pronouns (see page 61) in the present tense, it means to love or to
like someone. Examples:
I love you / I like you.
ar k ttiri.
I love him / I like him.
ar t ttiri.
I love her / I like her.
ar tt ttiri.
When this verb is followed by another verb, the second verb is always in the infinitive form with the
prefixes of Pattern 1 verbs. Some examples:
I like to drink coffee in the
morning.
ar ttiri ad su l-qhwa
s
-s
ba.
He likes to read before going to

bed.
ar ittiri a yr qbl a
ygn.
.
.
Exercise: For each meal, write at least three sentences in which you express Moroccan
food you like or dislike for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
l-fd
ur
1. ar ttiri tiglay
l-fd
ur.
2.
3.
imkli
1.
2.
3.
imnsi
1.
2.
3.
Medical & Body

describe, in talit, body parts and common illnesses
Body Parts
17
18
23
22
21
19
20
27
7
8
10
28
25
26
24
12
9
11
Health Problems
13
15
1. udm
2. imi
3. taqsmart
4. amggrd
5. tarut
6. sdr
7. afus
8. timrt
9. afus
10. ad
ad
11. iskr
12. alig
13. afud
14. awrz
15. ad
ar
16. tifdnt
17. azzar
18. ignzi
19. amzzu
20. aqul
21. tinxar
22. tit
t
23. timiwt
24. uxsan
25. ils
26. axmum
27.l-must
a
28. tamart
Whats wrong with you (m, s)?
mak yan?
Whats wrong with you (f, s)?
makm yan?
16
What14ails you?
mani tud
nt?
I have a cold.
illa gi zkum/gigi
r-rwah
Im allergic to...
tlla gi l-asasiya.
100 talit
I have a headache.
ud
n agayuni.
My ear aches.
ud
n imzzainu.
I feel dizzy.
llant gi timlillay.
Im injured.
Bri
Im burnt.
Jdr
I have a toothache.
ud
n yan azrg.
My ... hurts.
ud
n... / inayyi...
... / ...
Im vomiting / throwing up.
ar trara.
I need to see a doctor.
ri ad zr ad
bib.
.
.
.
.
.
Dialogue
Latifa: makm yan, yam labas?
Amy: ud
n aliginu.
Latifa: is gim azbbar bzzaf?
Amy: iyyah, bzzaf!
Latifa: s
br wiya, radam snu
yan l-kas n izri. dya
tjjit.
Amy: uhu, uhu, akm iss rb
rbbi. Ur iyyi xssa ad
su lub.
Latifa: waxxa, manka rakm
awn?
Amy: ut n-nmray ad n hay'at
s-salam ba ayirin.
Latifa: nttat ad izwarn. ad
iafa rbbi.
Amy: adam ur iml rbbi labas.
:
. :

:
! :

:
. .

.
:

.

:

. :
.

. :
. :

.1
1. mani tud
n Amy?
2. is as tfka Lat
ifa kra n d-dwa?
3. maf ur tri Amy at su lub?
4. is tdda Amy dar ud
bib?

.2
.3
.4
Exercise: What might you say if you were the person in each picture?
102 talit
Site Visit Expressions

Here are some useful expressions you may need during your site visit.
My name is ... I am a volunteer
with Peace Corps.
isminu ... gi
mutat
awwi hay'at
s-salam.
I will be working here for two

years at ...
rad xdm id sin

isggasn.
Im going to spend two days

with you (to host family).
rad didun skkiws sin

ussan.
Where is the youth center?
mani tlla d
ar -abab?
Where is the hospital /

delegation?
mani illa sbitar?
What is the name of the chief

doctor?
mad ism i ud
bib mqqurn?
Where is the agriculture office?
mani illa l-mrkz n

l-flaa?
Where is the water and forest

office?
mani illa l-mktb n

l-miyah d l-abat?
Where is the handicraft

center?
mani illa l-mujmma n

s-s
inaa t-tqlidiya
Where is the post office?
mani tlla l-bust

a?
Please, I want to open a post

box.
ri ad rzm yat l-bwat
ppust
al.
What do I have to do?
ma yixs
s
an?
How much do I have to pay?
mnk iyyi xs
s
an ad
xls
?
Where is the bank, please?
mani tlla l-banka?
I want to open a bank account.
ri ad rzm yan l-sab

l-banka.
Where is the Gendarme / police

station, please?
mani llan jandarm?
Give me your phone number,

please. (m/f)
fkiyyi afak n-nmra n

tilifunnk / tilifun nm.
I want to get a cart de sejour.
ri lakart
d sijur.
Is there a pharmacy here?
is illa lfrmasyan id?
Is there a teleboutique here?
is tlla tilibutik id?
Do you sell cell phone cards?
is a tzznzat lakart
n
t-tilifun?
Which service is available here:

Meditel or Maroc Telecom?
is illa miditil nd
t-tis
alat l-mrib?
Is there cell phone reception /

coverage?
is illa r-rizu?
.
...

.

.

. /
Is there CTM (the bus

company)?
is illa s-satyam?
What day/time is transportation

available?
man ass ittili l-mrkub?
Is there a cyber caf here?
is illa kra n s-sibir

id?
How far is it from here?
mnk as ibid f id?
Which day is the souk?
man ass illa s-suq?
Is there any association here?
is tlla kra n l-jmiya

id?
Ask your LCF for any other words or expressions you think you may need for site visit.
Travel
describe future activities
identify means of transportation and use appropriate expressions for travel
Future Tense
To form the future tense, take the imperative simple form, add the prefix rad and add the past tense
ending of pattern 1 verb:
rad + imperative simple (infinitive) + past tense ending
Forming the Future Tense

The only future tense pattern is as follows:
rad __
__
*ra t__t
__
*ra t__m
ra y__
__
*ra t__mt
*ra t__
__
*ra n__
ra __n
rad __nt
__
__
__
__
__
104 talit
* Remember that the t assimilate the d and the n, and in this case, the i. i.e.: d+t=t;
d+n=n ; d+i=y
Example :
to travel
safr
rad safr
ra nsafr
ra tsafrt
ra tsafrm
ra ysafr
ra tsafrmt
ra tsafr
ra dsafrn
ra dsafrnt
Example:
Negation of the Future Tense

To form the negative of the future tense, add u before the future indicator rad.
is ra tsafrt?
Will you travel?
uhu, urad safr.
No, I will not travel.
She is not going to eat fish.
ura t islman.
To express will never, we do not use the future tense, but rather ursar ( )and the and the past
tense.
I will never smoke.
ursar kmi.
We will never travel at night.
ursar nsafr d
yyd
.
He will never enter my house.
ursar ikm s tgmminu.
.
.
.
To express not yet when speaking about the future, use urta ( )with the future tense.
urta ra ngn.
I will not get married yet.
urta ra tahl.
Arent you traveling yet?
is urta ra tsafrt?
We will not go to bed yet.
Sometimes we use the verb to want iri ( )with another verb or noun to express the future.
Are you going to the souq
today?
is trit s-suq as
s
ad?
Where are you going?
mani trit?
Im going to the cinema this

evening.
ri ad ddu s s-sinima
tadggat ad.
Time Expressions
Tomorrow
askka
day after tomorrow
nnaf askka
tomorrow morning
askka s
ba
tomorrow afternoon/evening
askka () tadggat
next Saturday
l-d ad yukan
)(

next week
s-simana yad yukan
next month
ayyur ad yukan
next year
asggas ad yukan
next summer
-s
s
if ad yukan
one day / some day
yan was / kra n was
after lunch / dinner
bd imkli / amnsi
/
/
Some examples of the future tense using time expressions:

Are you going to go to the
cinema in the evening?
is ra tddut s l-xdmt
askka?
No, Im not going to go. Im

going to sleep a little bit.
uhu, urad ddu.
Someday, I will speak Arabic

well.
kra n was rad swal

talit mzyan.

.
.
Exercise: Put the verbs in parentheses in the future tense.

Moha: ma (skr) askka?
(ddu) s yan aduwar taman
Chris:
wsif.
Moha: managu (nkr)?
(nkr) 6:00, (fd
r)
Chris:
(f).
Moha: ma (skr) in?
Chris: (sawl) i middn f kra
limur n s
-s
at.
Moha: managu (wrri)?
Chris: (ili) tigmmi qbl
tiwti inallah.
Moha: ak iawn rbbi.
Chris: ak iawn rbbi.
)( :
. )( :
)(:
.( )( )6:00 )( :
)( :
. )( :
)(:
. )( :
. :
. :
106 talit
Dialogue
Omar: managu ra tddut s
l-fit
a?
Amy: as tnin s-sba u ns
.
Omar: man l-wqt ra tmnaggart
l-ustad nm?
as n t
-t
lat
a j-juj u
Amy:
ns
.
Omar: managu ra tlbt t-tinis?
as l-xmis r-rba
Amy:
llarub.
Omar: managu ra tizart ad
bib.
as n s-sbt l-xmsa ql
Amy:
qsm.
Omar: man l-wqt ra yf t-tran
lli ra tsafrt?
as l-dd l-ra ql
Amy:
qsmayn.
:
. :
:
. :
:
. :
. :
. :
:
. :
Exercise: Read the dialogue again quickly and write down Amys plan for the week
(write down the times using numbers, not words). Then, write your own
schedule for the upcoming week. What will you be doing each day? At
what time?
Travel
General Travel Information
Public transport in Morocco is both inexpensive and easy to use. Between major cities, trains are the
quickest and most comfortable means of travel, although they can be crowded at certain times of year.
Buses are the cheapest choice and can vary in terms of speed and comfort.
Traveling Between Cities
CTM: This is the national bus line, very comfortable, on schedule, seats are reserved and can be
purchased in advance in most places. Unaccompanied baggage can be sent via CTM.
Souk buses: In each large town there is a bus station, such as Quamra in Rabat. One can buy a ticket
one day in advance and fares are set. Sometimes the ticket is for a reserved seat, other times it is for
whatever seat is open when the bus goes through town. A ticket does not necessarily mean there is a
real seat either. Sometimes there are additional places set-up in the aisle. You have to bargain for the
price you pay for your luggage if this gets stored on top of the bus. The price depends upon the size of
the piece. It is advisable to carry smaller pieces of luggage you can store in the bus itself. Souk buses
do not always leave or arrive on time. They may stop in the middle of nowhere. They may also stop in
towns along the way looking for additional passengers.
Train: There are two classes: first and second. The price of any train car with air conditioning will be
higher. Sometimes there are schedule changes, but no available printed timetables. Check to be sure
that the time you wish to travel is still accurate. Train tickets can be bought in advance, and this is the
only form of local transportation on which you can buy a round-trip ticket.
Grand taxis: This is for travel between large towns and cities. They carry 6 passengers and since the
fare is per seat, if you want you can pay for empty seats so that the taxi leaves earlier. Ask the other
passengers in the car what the regular fare should be, do not ask the driver first. If you want to take the
entire taxi for yourself, ask for a taxi coursa. Baggage does not cost extra in a taxi.

Pick-up truck (camio): In some areas where no public transportation is available, people use their
personal trucks to carry supplies to their douars, they also take passengers at a rate that they determine
themselves.
Airport transportation: There are airport buses and trains which run from Rabat Ville to the
Casablanca airport. There are also airport buses which connect the airport to Casablanca but from
Rabat/Sale airport there are only taxis.
Travel Within Cities
Petit taxis: Every city has petit taxis which can carry up to three passengers. The fare is calculated by
meter. When you get in the taxi, ask that the meter be turned on. If there is no meter, or if it does not
work, ask the price before you begin. Since the taxi can take 3 passengers, if you are the only one
getting in, he can pick up other passengers. If you are the second or third person entering the taxi, ask
the price for your trip. At night (usually by 8 pm) until sunrise, the fare is 50% more than the daytime
fare.
Chariots: In very small villages, the chariots are used to get people to the weekly souk or to towns on
the main road, where larger transportation is available for farther distances.
Travel Expressions
Taxi
-t
t
aksi
Where is the taxi stand?
mani tlla l-mat

a n
t-t
aksiyat?
Please take me to...
awiyyi afak s...
I want to go to this address.

Please wait a minute for me.
ri ad ddu s ladrisa
yad.
qql sri yat dqiqa
afak.

...
.
.
How much, please?
mnka dari?
Turn on the meter, please.
ssxdm l-kuntur, afak.
Stop here, please.
bd id afak.
small taxi (petit taxi, inside city)
aksi imzzyn
t
large taxi (grand taxi, b/w cities)
aksi imqqurn
t
Is there a seat to ...
is tlla kra n l-blas

t
s...?
Yes, there is.
iyyah, tlla.
How many seats are reserved

so far?
mnk n l-blays
dark?
Four and you are the fifth.

I want to pay for 2 seats.
rba, kiyyi/kmmi
wis/tis xmsa.
ri ad xls
snat
l-blays
.
taxi driver
bu t
aksi
taxi driver
-ifur n t
t
aksi
Baggage
l-bagaj
Trunk
l-kufr / l-kuf
city bus
-t
t
ubis
city bus depot / stop
lmat
t
a n t
-t
ubisat

.
.
...

.

. / /
.

108 talit
mani itbdd ad t
-t
ubis
nmra...?
is ar itbdd ad t
-t
ubis
nmra id...?
is ar izray t
-t
ubis
taman...?
...
Which bus do I need to take if I

want to go to ... ?
man t
-t
ubis rad amz i
ri ad ddu s...?

...
Can you stop here?
is imkn a tbd id?
last stop / terminus
t-tirminus
Driver
-ifur
ticket taker
r-rusuvur
bus (between cities)
l-kar
bus station
lmat
t
a n l-kiran
Which bus is going to ... ?
man l-kar itddun s...?
Where does bus #... stop?

Does bus #... stop here?
Does this bus go by ... ?
When does the bus leave to ... ? managu itf l-kar s...?
man l-wqt ilkm l-kar
When does the bus arrive to ...? s...?
...
...

...
...
...
I want a ticket to ...
ri yat tawriqt s...?
How much is the ticket to ... ?
mnk tawriqt s...?
I want to keep my bag with me.
ri ad fl s
-s
akinu
tamanu.
Tell me when we arrive to ...
i nra...tnit iyyit.
. ...
Driver
-ifur
drivers assistant
l-grisun
How long will you stop here?
mnk l-wqt rat tbd

id?
Is this seat empty?
is txwa l-blas
t ad?
...
...
Dialogue
Maratskrt ?
Hind: ma ra tskrt s
-s
imana yad
yukan?
Dave: ri ad safr s mrrak.
Hind: mamnk s ra tsafrt?
t-tran nd s-satyam
Dave:
(CTM).
man l-wqt ra tft
Hind:
r-rbat
?
Dave: rad f t-tmnya u ns
ba.
-s
s
Hind: mani ra tggawrt
mrrak?
Dave: lut
il.
Hind: ma ra tskrt in?
ri ad us
s
: rad ddu s
r
Dave: jam l-fna dqs
l-bdi...
waxxa ak islkm rbbi la
Hind:
xir.
Dave: amin.

:
. :
:
. :
:
. :
:
. :
:
:
:
...
. :
. :
.1
1. ma ra yskr Dave?
2. is ra diddu s fas (Fes)?
.2
.3
3. is ra disafr l-kar?
4. mani ra diggawr mrrak?
5. mani illa jam l-fna?
.4

.5
At the Hotel
look for and use hotel accommodation
use conditional sentences to express possible and impossible conditions
Hotel Accommodation
Hotels are classified into categories from 0 (non-classified) to 5-star hotels. There is a reduction of
25% on the second day for Moroccans and foreign residents in Morocco, but only in classified hotels.

the hotel
lut
il
the reception desk
larisipsiun
Room
lbit
Is there an inexpensive hotel

around here?
is illa kra n lut

il irxs
n
di?
Where is a nice hotel?
mani illa kra n lut

il
inqan?
110 talit
Please take me to a hotel (to a
taxi driver).
awiyyi s kra n lut

il,
afak.
A room for one person (a

single).
yat l-bit singl.
A room for two people.
yat l-bit dubl
Do you have a room available?
is darun kra n l-bit?
Is there a shower with hot

water?
is illa d-du s-sxun?
Whats the price for the room?
mnk a t-taman?
Can I see the room?
izd waxxa zri l-bit?
Which floor?
man lit
aj?
Bed
n-namusiya
Is breakfast included?
is ikm l-fd
ur l-sab n
l-bit?
Ill stay for 2 nights.
rad ggawr snat l-lilat.
Wake me up at ... please.
snkriyyi ..., afak.
.
.

.
. ...
Dialogue
Chad d Kristine lut
il
Chad d
s-salamu alaykum
Kristine:
bu lot
il: wa alaykum s-salam
Chad: is tlla kra n l-bit?
bu lot
il: iyyah, tlla tin yat
n-namusya imqqurn, tlla
tin snat n-namusyat.
Chad: nra tin yat n-namusya,
agis ili l-mmam.
bu lot
il: mrba.
Chad: mnka i l-lila?
bu lot
il: 130 drhm.
Kristine: is man waman?
bu lot
il: iyyah a lalla.
Kristine: waxxa. fka l-bit.
bu lot
il: mrrat l-wraq ad.
Chad: hak a sidi.
bu lot
il: ukran, ha tasarut n
l-bit, 160 lit
aj
amzwaru.
1. mani s idda Chad d Kristine?
2. mnka l-byut ran?
3. mnka t-taman n l-bit?
4. is irxs
lut
il ad?
5. ma tn ixs
s
an a t skrn ba ad
ggawrn lut
il?
:

:

:

:
.
. :
.

. 130

.

. .
.
.
160
.
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
The Conditional
There are two basic types of conditional sentences in talit depending on whether the if clause
represents a possible condition or a contrary-to-fact/impossible condition.
Type
I
Conditional:
Present/Future
Possible
Condition
in
the
The word i ( )is equivalent to the English if. It introduces a possible condition only. This type of
conditional sentence is composed of the simple past plus the future, or sometimes the simple past plus
the imperative. This is used in the same context as English to express a future probable condition.
If the weather is nice tomorrow,
Ill go to the beach.
i ila l-al askka, rad

ddu s laplaj.
If I see him, Ill tell (it to) him.
i tzri, ras tini.

i txdmt mzyan, ra
tnjt.
i tkkit dar Marlene,
sllm fllas.
If you work hard, youll succeed.

If you visit Marlene, say hi to
her.
If you start early, youll finish
early.
If you want money, work hard.
.
.
.
.
i tbdit zik, ra tsalat

zik.
i trit iqarid
n, xdm
mzyan.
.
.

. )( ( )}{ .1
1. i ({ntta} azzl), (lkm) l-wqt.

2. i ({kiyyi} zr) amd (ini) as
ayyi skr t-tilifun.
3.i ({kmmi} qllb) s fat
ima, (af)
l-mktaba.
4.i ({ntni} sn) aaras, (ddu).
Type II Conditional:
Past/Present
An
. )} { ( )( .2
. )( )}{ ( .3
.( )
)}{ ( .4
Impossible
Condition
in
the
The word mtadis* ( )is used in the second type of conditional. It also is equivalent to the English
if. This word introduces two different types of contrary-to-fact conditionals. The first kind refers to
past circumstances which did not occur. For example, if we had worked, which implies that we did
not work. The second refers to present but unreal circumstances. For example, if I were rich, which
implies that I am not rich. General context is the decisive factor in determining whether present or
past contrary-to-fact conditions are referred to.
*If I had a map, I would lend it to mtadis dari l-xarita
ikun fki ak tt.
you.
*If he hadnt known the way, he mtadis ur isn aaras
ikun ijla.
would have been lost.
mra dari l-flus ikun
*If I had the money, Id go with
ddi didawn.
you
mlad urd nttat, mlad
*If it were not for her, we
nqqim bla imkli.
wouldnt have lunch.
*If it hadnt been for me, he
would have drowned.
mladis ur gis lli, ikun

irq.
.

.
.
.
.
112 talit
*Other words that introduce this type of conditional:
mra ... ikun
mladis ... ikun
mlad ... mlad
Exercise: Substitute i with mtadis/mlad/mra/mladis and make the necessary

changes.
1. i safr, rad ggawr lut
il.
2. i tddit s l-bust
a, awiyyid sin
tnabr.
3. i ikmml l-xdmt l-wqt, rad as
nfk iqaridn.
4. i tit, ssird imink s -ita d
-s
s
abun nuxsan.
5. i trit l-lib, akid zik.
. .1
. .2
. .3
. .4
. .5
At the Post Office

buy stamps and send letters and parcels
use prepositions correctly with verbs
The Post Office

Stamps are available at tobacco stores in addition to the post office. It is best to mail your letters at the
mail slot outside the post office since pick-ups can be infrequent at other mail boxes. When sending
packages out of the country, you are required to fill out a customs declaration form. Be sure to leave
the package open because an official is required to see the contents before it is sealed.
Vocabulary
post office
l-bost
a
envelope
jjwa
letter
tabrat
Stamp
tanbr
package
kulya
stamps
tnabr
normal
adi
registered
letter
tabrat
rikomandi
express
ikspres
postman
l-faktur
customs
d-diwana
post box
bwat
ppost
al
tape
s-skot
box (for a
package)
tkart
unt
glue
ls
aqa
address
ladrisa
post card
kart
ppost
al
a
money order l-mand
Verbs
to send
s
s
ifd
/
azn
to paste
ls
s
q
to fill in (a form)
mmr
to close / seal
qqn
to receive
amz
Dialogue
l-bust
a
Judy: ri sin t-tnabr, afak.
l- mani s rat taznt
l.muwd
d
af: tibratin ad?
Judy: ri ad azn yat
rikumandi s mirikan d
yat adiya ir id
l-mrib.
l- waxxa a lalla, darm
af: 22.50 drhm.
l.muwd
d
Paul: nkki ri ad azn yat
l-kulya s amirikan.

. :
:
:
.
. 22.50 :
. :
114 talit
lmliyyi ma gis, afak.
.
l.muwd
d
af:
Paul: hak a sidi.
.
l- mmr l-mt
bu ad,
.
l.muwd
d
af: afak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
l- is ra tt taznt adi nd

l.muwd
d
af: ikspris?
Paul: ir adi afak.
.
l-muwd
d
af: waxxa a sidi, dark 250
. 250
drhm.
Paul & Judy: ukran, bslama.
.
l-muwd
d
af: ayawn rbbi.
.
1. ma tskar Judy l-bust
a?
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
.1
.2
2. is ra tazn tibratin ikspris?

3. ma yra Paul ad is
ifd
?
.3
4. ma t ixs
s
ann at iskr?
.4
Exercise: Make as many sentences as you can using the following words. You may
need to add some of your own words.
tdda
ddan
ddant
rant
l-mand
a
ran
izra
l-kulya
s l-bost
a
aku
tra
aznt
mirikan
nra
amz
bwat
ppust
al
zrant
ndda
idda
ra
ddu
ira
tnaber
Using Prepositions with Pronoun Endings &

Verbs
Learning how to use prepositions correctly can sometimes be tricky. First, the prepositions dont
always correspond directly to English prepositions . Thus, at different times in talit we will use
different prepositions for what would be the same preposition in English. Second, prepositions
sometimes change in meaning depending upon the verb they are used with. This is true in English, too:
She spoke on the rights of homeless people. (on means on the subject of)
I put the book on the table. (on means on top of)
With these challenges, it may take awhile for you to be a master of talit prepositions. But with
continued use and exposure, they will become natural for you, just as greetings are now natural for you.
In this section, we will look at two aspects of prepositions: 1. how to connect prepositions with pronoun
endings, and 2. which verbs use certain prepositions.
Some prepositions you have already learned (such as win) simply add the normal pronoun endings (ex.
winu, wink, winm etc.). The following prepositions, however, change slightly when pronoun
endings are added:
with
on / about
in
to
The Preposition d
The preposition d ( )always translates into the English with. To add the pronoun endings:
with
with me
didi
with you (m, s)
didk
with you (f, s)
didm
with him / her
dids
with us
didn
with you (m, p)
didun
with you (f, p)
didunt
with them (m, p)
didsn
with them (f, p)
didsnt
Some verbs that go with this preposition:

laugh (with)
s
t
s
a (d)
play (with)
Mnaggar(d)
( )
meet (with)
lb (d)
( )
stay (with)
accompany
(with)
mun (d)
( )
argue (with)
Ma (d)
( )
stay (with)
skkus (d)
shake hands
(with)
Sllm (d)
( )
travel (with)
safr (d)
( )
( )
( )
Some examples:
I met (with) RKia in the post
office.
I met with her.
mn aggar d rqia
lbust
a
mn aggar dids.
I accompanied Fatima and

Halima to the hammam.
mun d fat
ima d lima s
l-mmam.
I accompanied (with) them to

the hammam.
mun didsnt s l-mmam.
Do you want to stay with us for

a while?
I didnt talk with them.
is trit a didn tskkiwst

imik?
ur didsn sawl.
.
.
.
.

.
116 talit
The Preposition f
The preposition f is used with many verbs and expressions, and as a result it translates into many
English prepositions, including: on, about, to, at, and others. With pronoun endings:
on (and others)
on me
flli
on you (m, s)
fllak
on you (f, s)
fllam
on him / her
fllas
on us
flla
on you (m, p)
fllaun
on you (f, p)
fllaunt
on them (m, p)
fllasn
on them (f, p)
fllasnt

divide (among)
bd
u f
put on
srs f
talk (about)
saul f
pour on
Ffi f
lie (about)
Skdub f
defend
daf f
cross out
ut f
agree on
ttafq f
shake hands
with, greet
sllm f
Some examples:
srs l-kas f t
-t
bla.
srs fllas l-kas.
I put a cup on it.
ut f n-nmra n
I crossed out the phone number. t-tilifun.
ut fllas.
I crossed it out.
I put a cup on the table.
I divided cookies among them.
bd
i fllasn l-kiks.
.
.
.
.
.
The Preposition
The preposition changes into g when it is used with a pronoun. In English, it may mean in, of
at. With pronouns:
in (and others)
in me
gigi
in you (m, s)
gik
in you (f, s)
gim
in him / her
gis
in us
gin
in you (m, p)
gitun
in you (f, p)
gitunt
in them (m, p)
gitsn
in them (f, p)
gitsnt

take care of
thllu ()
( )
cook in
snu ()
watch in
tfrrj ()
( )
trust
g ttiqa ()
travel in
safr ()
( )
look at
sr ()
( )
( )
( )
Some examples:
smaqqaln gin.
They swum in a swimming pool. umn l-pisin.

umn gis.
They swum in it.
They looked at us.
I watched Egyptian films.

I watched them.
I dont wash my clothes in the
river.
I dont wash my clothes in it.
tfrraj l-aflam n misr

tfrj gitsn gitsn
ur ar tsbban ihduminu
wassif.
ur at gis tsbban
.

.
.
118 talit
The Preposition s
The preposition s does not only have the meaning of to (direction), but it also has other meanings:
with (using), into, for. When used with pronouns:
to (and others)
to me
sri
to you (m, s)
srk
to you (f, s)
srm
to him / her
srs
to us
srn
to you (m, p)
srun
to you (f, p)
srunt
to them (m, p)
srsn
to them (f, p)
srsnt

wait (for)
qql s
wash (using)
ssird s
plough (using)
krz s
warm (using)
ssr s
translate (into)
trjm s
close (using)
rgl s
Some examples:
She washed with Tide.
tssurd ihdumns s t-tid.
She washed with (using) it.
tssurd srs.
They are waiting for her/him.
ar srs ttqln.
I locked the door with a key.
rgl tiflut s tsarut.
I lock the door with (using) it.
rgl srs tiflut.
.
.
Describing the Peace Corps Mission

talk about the three goals of Peace Corps
describe your job in Morocco
Peace Corps
Text
ma ygan hay'at s-salam?
hay'at s-salam tga yat mund
d
ama n
mirikan. ar ttazn mutatauwwiin s
kra n tmizar:
1. ba- ad awn middn.
2. ba imirikaniyyin ad fhmn mzyan
middn n tmizar ad ddun sawln fllasn
mirikan.
3. ula middn n timzar ad ad ssn mad
gan imirikaniyyin.

.
:
. .1
.2
.
. .3

Organization
mund
d
ama
Countries
timizar
Peoples
middn
The Three Goals Of The Peace Corps

1. To help people of interested countries
and areas in meeting their needs for
trained men and women;
2. To help promote a better
understanding of the American people
on the part of the peoples served;
3. To help promote a better
understanding of other peoples on the
part of the American people.
120 talit
Environment
Text
isminu Laura, ar txdam d l-brnamj n
l-bi'a n hayat s-salam. l-muhimmanu
tga ad zr mamnk s a tamaln middn d
-t
t
abia. ar ttini i middn d
t-turis l-li d ittakan s l-park
adur tlun z-zbl kra ygat mani,
afd
n f l-bi'a. ar asn ttini adur
tbbin jari ba ad afd
nf tagant. ar
didasn tqllab s kra n t
-t
ruq yad
nin
ba ad snwan bla ad stmaln bzzaf n
ikud
n. ar skar kra n l-maari d
i-jmiyat f mamnk ntafd
f l-bi'a.
.
.

.
.
.
.

l-bi'a
Environment
program
l-brnamj
forest
tagant
to deal (with)
taml (d)
( )
ways
-t
t
uruq
nature
-t
t
abia
firewood
ikud
n
trash
z-zbl
to cut
bbi
to protect
afd
f
to use
stml
trees
jari
Health
Dialogue
Khadija: s-salamu alaykum.

Kim: wa alaykum s-salam.
Khadija: zrikm id
gam s
-s
bit
ar, is
tgit tafrmlit?
Kim: uhu, nkki ur gi tafrmlit
ur gi tad
bibt.
Khadija: ma ygan l-xdmtnm?
Kim: ar sawal i middn f
-s
s
atnsn d s
-s
at n
tarwansn.
Khadija: is asn takkat d-dwa?
Kim: ur ad akka d-dwa ur ad
kkat tisgnit. ar ttini i
middn ma tn ixs
s
an ad skrn
ba ad ur tmrid
n ntni wala
tarwansn. ar asn sawal
bzzaf f d-dwa n wanu d win
ulig, d bit l-ma.
Khadija: mzyan, ima tamddakltnnm ma
tskar?
Kim: ar ttini i tmarin ad
aknt s s
-s
bit
ar i a
ttarunt ba a tnt izr
ud
bib. ar asnt ttini ad
awint tarwansnt ad jlbn.
ar asnt tsawal f ma rad
skrnt ba abda ur ttarunt.
Khadija: mzyan, trabk l-lah
fllawnt.
Kim: l-lah ibark fik.
.
:
.
:
:

:
.
:
:

.
:
. :

.

.
:

.
.
.
. :
. :

-s
s
at
Health
health clinic
-s
s
bit
ar
the (water) well
anu
Nurse
afrmli
tafrmlit
to immunize
jlb
Doctor
ad
bib
tad
bibt
to give birth
aru
to be sick
mrid
pregnant
ar ttaru
medicines
d-dwa
the shot
tisgint /
tasmi
Small Business Development

Dialogue
Scott: s-salamu alaykum.
l-mllm: wa alaykum s-salam.
samiyyi ak qddm
Scott:
ixfinu.
.
:
.
:
. :
122 talit
l-mllm: iyyah, tfd
d
l a sidi.
Scott: isminu Scott nkki gi
mutatawwi d hayaat
s-salam ukid ba ad
awn l-muqawalat
timzyanin.
l-mllm: mamnk s ra tnt tawnt?
Scott: bzzaf n tawsiw, zund
l-isabat d l-ihar d
mamnk s a tsuwwaqn
s-slit nsn. matalan, ar
nskar lakart
d vizit i
l-muqawla nfkas yat
smiyt nskr l-ihar i
s-slit ns l-antirnit.
l-mllm: ifulki ayad, walaynni
ma tra tstafd l-muqawala
yad?
Scott: tra tstafd aku ra tznz
s-slit ns l-mrib ula
l-xarij.
l-mllm: mzyan, ak iawn rbbi.
. :

:

.
:
:
.

.
:
.
. :
Scott: nkki ula kiyyi.
. :

enterprise /
firm
l-muqawala
Accountancy
l-isabat
Advertisement
l-'ihar
to advertise
skr
l-'ihar
products
merchandise
abroad
l-mntuj
s-slit
l-xarij
Renting a House
speak about renting and furnishing houses
Finding a House
Vocabulary
building /
block of flats
imara
Apartment
brt
ma
House
tigmmi
Stairs
iskufal /
ibskal
Elevator
sansur
Balcony
balkun
rental agent
(in cities)
asms
ar
living room
tams
rit
Bedroom
bit n-nas
Bathroom
bit l-ma /
walet
t
Courtyard
asarag
Guestroom
ams
riy/bit
bath
l-mmam
shower
d-du
kitchen
l-kuzina
neighbor
adjar
neighbors
adjarn
roof
azur
Expressions
Im looking for a house to rent.
ar siggil s yat tgmmi

n lkra.
Can you show it to me?
mliyyt afak.
Where is it located?
mani tlla?
Give me directions to it.
ntiyyi mani tlla.
Can I see it?
ri as tzr afak.
How many rooms does it have?
mnk n l-byut gis?
Is the roof for common use?
is itawrak azur?
.

.

.

124 talit
Dialogue
Brian: s-salamu alaykum
l-aj: wa alaykum s-salam
Brian: is tlla kra n tgmmi n
l-kra?
:

:

:
l-aj: is trit kra n tgmmi

imzzyn nd a tmqqur?
Brian: ri kra n yat imzzyn a

gis tili tams
rit d bit
n-nas d d-du d
l-kuzina, ar is tkm
tafukt.
:

.
l-aj: tlla yat, walaynni

t-tamanns 25.000 ryal.
. 25.000
:
Brian: uhu, bzzaf flli, aku

gi ir udi. ur i ad
xls
t-taman ad.
l-aj: mnk a trit a txls
t?
Brian: 15.000 ryal.
l-aj: iwa, s-sat ad ur tlli
kra n tgmmi s t-taman
ad. wrrid dari tikklt
yad
nin, i ufi kra rak
lm.
Brian: waxxa a sidi, l-lah yrm
l-waldin.
l-aj: waldina u waldik.
1. max lli idda Brian dar l-aj?
2. is ira kra n tgmmi imzzyn nd kra
n yat imqqurn?
3. is izra Brian tigmmi?
4. max lli ur tt ikri?
5. is tlla kra n yat irxs
n f xttad?
. :
.
:
. 15.000 :
:
.
.
. :
. :
.1
.2
.3

.4

.5
Furnishing a House
House Furniture
radio / tape
recorder
l-musjjala
television
t-tlfaza
electric outlet
l-priz
light bulb
l-bula
electric cord
l-xit
n
-d
d
u
candle
tamt
iron
l-ms
lu
key / switch
tasarut
broom
tat
t
abt
Table
tt
bla
Chair
l-kursi
Bed
n-namusiya
Pillow
l-mxdda /
l-wsada
floor mat
agrtil
Rug
tazrbit
Carpet
l-mukit
Blanket
l-mant
a /
l-kaa
Curtain
l-xamiya
Sheet
lizar
squeegee
j-jbbada
/s-syaqa
Moroccan sofa
l-punj
water heater
-ufu
Couch
s-sdari
heater
-ufaj
Kitchenware
refrigerator
tllaja
spoon
l-milqa /
tanjawt
Oven
afrran
knife
l-mus
Blender
muliniks
fork
l-frit
a
Saucepan
l-gamila
glass
l-kas
cooking pot
-t
t
awa
teapot
l-brrad
Plate
-t
t
bsil
coffee pot
abriq
Brazier
l-mjmr /
takat
tray
ss
iniya
Grill
-uwaya
bowl
tajbbanit
Strainer
-s
s
ffaya
kettle
l-mqraj
pressure
cooker
l-kukut
pitcher
arraf
Sifter
tallunt
couscous pot
tasksut
frying pan
l-mqla
ladle
anja
faucet
r-rubini
Exercise: Put the household items in the correct room.

but
agaz
lkursi
nnamusiya
kuzina
126 talit
tt
bla
ss
abun
lmlqa
lmus
l-gamila
lktab
aman
bit n-nas

-d
d
u
tt
bsil
l-gamila
l-mxdda
rrobini
bit l-ma

Exercise: Describe in talit the house you want to rent.
Safety and Security

list some safety and security problems you may face during your service
describe some strategies for dealing with these issues
use talit to implement these strategies
Sexual Harassment
Vocabulary
gazelle*
l-zala
to follow someone
tab
the beautiful*
z-zwina
to get in someone's
way
naqqr
the beauty*
z-zin
to harass
ngg
a strawberry (girl)*
t-tuta
*These words are used by men to harass women.
Expressions
sexual harassment
tarru jinsi
He followed me.
itabaiyyi.
What do you want?
ma trit?
Go away.
zayd s alnk.
Get away (far) from me.
fkiyyi s t-tisa.
Let go of me.
lqiyyi.
t
Dont touch me.
adur / awr iyyi tslit.
Dont follow me again.
aur sur iyyi tabt.
Go or you will regret it.
zayd nd tra tndmt.
.
. /
I will tell the police.
ra tini i l-bulis.
I will call the gendarmes.
ra tini i jadarmya.
Respect yourself.
tarm ixfnk.
He doesnt want to get away

(far) from me.
ur iri a yfk s t-tisa.
I told you: get away (far) from

me.
nni ak fkiyyi s ttisa.
.
.
.
Text - talit

" : .

" " : "
. .
" . " :
. .
.
Text - Transcription
Jen tfd dar -bab
mllid tf Jen dar -bab, illa yan bu t
-t
umubil ibid taman l-bab n dar
-bab. mlli tra Jen a tzri innyas urgazan: "li a z-zin akm slkm",
tnnayas Jen: "zayd s alnk, is trit kra n yan a ytab ultmak?" tssuda Jen
itabt bu t
-t
umubil, tbbi jen aaras s ljiht yad
nin, tudr yugayyuns, tkmml
aarasns. wis sin wissan, iawd bu t
-t
umubil a ylli iskr as amzwaru. wis
krad
wissan tnnayas Jen i bu t
-t
umubil: "i sul iyyi tabt rad diklari dar
l-bulis." iawd itabt tikklt yad
nin, tddu Jen tdiklari srs dar l-bulis,
tfkayasn n-nmra n t
-t
umubil. umzn l-bulis bu t
-t
umubil, rn i Jen. id
alb
urgazn i Jen ad as tsam, iltazm ba adur sul as itrrd
tikklt yad
nin.
Questions
1.mani tkka Jen?
2. mani illa bu t
-t
umubil?
3. ma ynna bu t
-t
umubil i Jen?
4. is tmun Jen d bu t
-t
umubil?
5. ma tskr Jen mlli tt itab bu
-t
t
umubil tikklt yad
nin?
6. ma yskr bu t
-t
umubil mlli t
aumzn l-bulis?
.1

.2
.3
.4

.5
.6
Text - English Translation

Jen coming out of the youth center
When Jen was coming out of the youth center, there was a man in his car by the side of the
road. As she passed by him, he told her: Get in gazelle, I will take you home. Jen said: Go
away. Is it okay with you if someone harasses your sister? Jen kept walking and the man was
following her with his car. She crossed the road, ignoring him, and continued on her way. The next
day, the same thing happened with that man. The following day Jen told the man: If you follow me
again I will tell the police. In fact, he did follow her again and so she went to the police station.
128 talit
She told them what happened and gave them the license plate number. The police arrested the
man and called Jen. The man apologized to Jen and promised not to get in her way again.
At the Taxi Stand

Vocabulary
seat
l-blas
t
windshield
j-jaj
tire
r-rwid
a
cracked
ist
smooth
twamsa
to be afraid
ksud
to happen
aq / jru
Expressions
Drive slowly please.
ug ir s lil, afak.
s
Dialogue
mat
t
a n t
-t
aksiyat
l-kurti:
yat l-blas
t s t
at
a, yat
l-blas
t s t
at
a.
Stephen: nkki ri t
at
a.
l-kurti: li.
Stephen: bllati, ad zr t
-t
aksi
bda. ur ri a ddu
-t
t
aksi yad.
l-kurti: max?

:
.
. :
. :
.
:
.
:
Stephen: r-rwayd
kullu twamsant,
d j-jaj lgddam ist.

:
.
l-kurti: ir li, ur tksut, ur ra

yuqa walu.
. :
Stephen: uhu, izar iyyi kra n

-t
t
aksi yad
nin,
afak.
l-kurti: ixs
s
ak a tqqlt imik.
Stephen: l-wqt mai mukil. rad
qql.

:
.
. :
. . :
Questions
1. mani illa stfan?
2. mani ira?
3. max lli ur iddi t
-t
aksi lli
izra?
4. ma yd
alb yukurti?
English Translation
At the taxi stand

.1
.2
.3
.4

l-kurti: A seat to Tata, a seat to Tata.
Stephen: I am going to Aqqa.
l-kurti: Get in.
Stephen: Wait. Let me see the taxi first. . . . I dont want to go in this taxi.
l-kurti: Why?
Stephen: The tires are smooth and the windshield is cracked.
l-kurti: Come on, dont worry. Nothing is going to happen.
Stephen: Find me a good taxi, please.
l-kurti: Youll have to wait a little bit.
Stephen: Time is not a problem, Ill wait.
At Work
Vocabulary
to bring in
km
to lock to (something)
qqn d
to take out
ssuf
a lock
l-qfl
to steal
akr
to be stolen
ityakar
Dialogue
l-xdmt
lomolog: s-salamu alaykum. zik
as
s
ad.
Oliver: wa alaykum s-salam. i
wiya.
lomolog: ma yad tskart? max lli d
tkmt l-bisklit s
l-biru?
Oliver: ira a ytyakar i tn fl
brra.
lomolog: walakin gid ur igi
l-blas
t n l-bisklitat.
Oliver: iyyah, walakin ma rad
skr?
lomolog: gas l-qfl i l-bisklit,
tqqnt d l-bab n brra.
Oliver: l-fikra ifulkin aynna, ur
gis fkkir.
lomolog: is dark illa l-qfl?
Oliver: iyyah illa dari, rad f
dik a t qqn d l-bab n
brra.
lomolog: qqn a taft ma trzemt.
Oliver: l-lh yrm l-waldin.
lomolog: waldina u waldik.

.
.
:
. .
:

:
. :
. :
:
.
. :

:

:
.
. :
. :
. :
Questions
1. max lli iskm Oliver l-biklit s
.1
130 talit
l-biru?
2. ma ynna lomolog i Oliver?
3. ma yskr Oliver?
.2
.3
English Translation
At work
counterpart: Peace be upon you. You came in early today.
Oliver: Peace be upon you too. A little bit.
counterpart: Whats this? Why did you bring your bicycle into the office?
Oliver: Oh. It will be stolen if I leave it outside.
counterpart: But this is not the place for bicycles.
Oliver: Yes, but what should I do?
counterpart: Use a lock with the bicycle, and lock it to the gate.
Oliver: Good idea. I didnt think about that.
counterpart: Do you have a lock?
Oliver: Yes, I have one. Ill take it outside now and lock it to the gate.
counterpart: Lock now what you will find later.
Oliver: God bless your parents.
counterpart: Our parents and your parents.
Forgetting a Wallet in a Taxi / Filling a

Report
Vocabulary
police
l-bulis
police station
l-kumisariy
a
wallet
l-bzt
am
to lose
jlu
to forget
ttu
to save
(someone)
tq
Expressions
Help me.
awniyyi
I lost my passport.
jli l-ppaspurinu.
I forgot my wallet in...
ttu l-bztaminu ...
Wheres the police station?
mani tlla
l-kumisariya?
Help me! (use only in extreme danger)
tqu r-ru!
.
...

!
Dialogue
Brian: s-salamu alaykum.
.
:
abulisi: wa alaykum s-salam.

Brian: samiyyi, ttu
l-bzt
aminu yat
-t
t
aksi.
abulisi: waxxa, ma ysmnk?
.
:
Brian: isminu brayan.

abulisi: ma yllan l-bzt
am?
. :
:
. :
:
132 talit
Brian: gis l-ppaspurinu d yat
lakart
viza d 500 drhm.
abulisi: is tqalt i n-nmra n
-t
t
aksi?
Brian: 52.
abulisi: waxxa, fkiyyi n-nmra n
t-tilifun nk, ra srk
nttsl mn bd.
Brian: ukran.
. 500 :
:
.52 :

:
.
. :
abulisi: lla ukran ala wajib.
.
:
Questions
.1
1. mani s idda brayan?
.2
2. is as ityakar l-bzt
am?
English Translation
Brian: Peace be upon you.
police: Peace be upon you too.
Brian: Excuse me, I forgot my wallet in a taxi.
police: Okay, whats your name?
Brian: My name is Brian ...
police: What was in the wallet?
Brian: My passport, a Visa card, and 500 dirham.
police: Do you remember the taxis number?
Brian: 52.
police: Okay, leave me your phone number, well call you later.
Brian: Thanks.
police: Its my duty.
Butagas
Vocabulary
metal regulator
between gas
tank and hose
l-magana
to test
jrrb
to close (tank)
qqn
to open (tank)
rzm
to turn on /
to make work
ssxdm
to change
bddl
t-tiyu
to tighten
ziyyr
ad
u
to smell
kd
u
butane gas
tank
l-but
a
Gas
l-gaz
CO detector
d-ditiktur
battery
l-jra
gasket
(rubber ring)
j-jlda n
l-but
a
torn
ibbi / tbbi
hose
odor / smell
l-xatm
ring
Expressions
There is a gas smell.
illa wad
u n l-but
a.
Turn on the detector.
ssxdm d-dittiktur
Test the butagas tank with

water and soap.
jrrb l-but
a s aman d
s-s
abun.
Change the rubber ring if its

torn.
bddl j-jlda n l-but

a i
tbbi.
.
.
.
Dialogue
Hind dar Jessica
Hind: ahlan manik tgit?
Jessica: labas, l-amdullah, mrba
bikm.
Hind: a srm irb l-xir, kd
i
ad
u n l-but
a.
Jessica: ur kd
i walu, dari
d-dittiktur n l-gaz,
walaynni ur gis l-jrat
.
Hind: ixs
s
akm a t sxdmt, ayad
ur gis l-mza, bllati a
nzr j-jlda n l-but
a bda.
Jessica: waxxa.
Hind: j-jlda yad tmmut, l-xat
ar
a tskart. ixs
s
a a tt
nbddl, njrrb s waman d
-s
s
abun.
Jessica: waxxa, llay rm l-waldin.
Hind: waldina u waldik.

:
. :
. :
,
.

.
. :
.
:
.
. :
. :
Questions
1. max lli ur tsxdm Jessica
d-dittiktur n l-gaz?
2. ma ygan l-mukil l-but
a n
Jessica?
3. ma yxs
s
an Hind d Jessica a
tskrnt?

.1
.2

.3
English Translation
Hind: Hello, how are you?
Jessica: Fine, thanks be to God. Welcome.
Hind: Thanks. I smell gas.
Jessica: I dont smell it. I have a gas detector but it ran out of batteries.
Hind: You should always have it on. This is no game. Lets look at the
rubber gasket ring first.
Jessica: Okay.
Hind: You see, the rubber ring is torn. This is dangerous. We have to
134 talit
change it, then test it with water and soap.
Jessica: Okay, may God bless your parents.
Hind: Our parents and yours.
Hash
Vocabulary
Hashish
l-i
Quality
kalitti /
nga
to smoke
kmi
to use
stml
sticking to /
bothering
someone
ls
q / brzt
Dialogue
Aziz: akid, is a tqllabt s
l-i?
Andy: uhu, zayd alnk, nkki aur

ad stml.
. :
Aziz: akid, dari yat l-kalitti

ur a tduwwar.
. :
Andy: nni ak fkiyyi s t-tisa.

nkki ur ad kmmi.
Aziz: ra didak skr yan t-taman
ilan.
Andy: uf a ssi, i sul iy tls
qt
ra tini i l-bulis, nkki
ur ad kmmi.
. .
. :

.
Aziz: l-bulis! s
afi ak iawn
rbbi.
. ! :
Questions
.1
1. mad imnaqqar Andy?

2. ma gis ira Aziz?
.2
3. i isa Andy l-i?
.3
4. max lli iks

ud Aziz?
.4
English Translation
Aziz: Come here, are you looking for hash?
Andy: No, go away. I dont use it.
Aziz: Come on, its good stuff.
Andy: I said go away. I dont smoke.
Aziz: Look, Ill give you a good price.
Andy: You look, if you keep bothering me Ill call the police. I dont smoke.
Aziz: Police! Okay, may God help you.
Theft
Vocabulary
Theft
tamxxart
thief
amxxar
Danger
l-xat
ar
to touch
sli
medical certificate /
report
ahada
ibbiya /
t
srtafika
to forgive
sam i
make a statement /
file a report
diklari
he attacked me
itdda flli
summons
l-istida'
he snatched my...
ixt
f iyyi
witness
amahd
he slapped me
imrrq iyyi
testimony
-ahada
he hit me
yut iyyi
Police
l-bulis
he spit on me
issufs gigi
police inspector
l-inspiktur
he grabbed me
from...
yumz iyyi
...
police car
l-fargunit
he cursed me
isb iyyi
Report
r-rappur
he stole my...
yukr iyyi
Law
l-qanun
he insulted me
iiyr iyyi
Human rights
uquq
l-'insan
to call (the police)
r i (lbulis)

()
Lawyer
muami
court
l-mkama

...

...
136 talit
Expressions
Wheres the closest police /
gendarme station, please.
mani tlla kra n

l-kumisariya / l-brigad
n j-jundarm iqrbn,
afak?
I want to make a statement

about a sexual harassment
(incident).
ri ad bl f yan
tarru jinsi.
What police station should I go

to?
man l-kumisariya s ra
ddu?
Take me to the closest police

station, please.
awiyyi s kra n
l-kumisariya iqrbn,
afak.
Pay attention.
kun la bal.
Come with me to the police.
yallah a nddu s dar

l-bulis
.

.
.

Dialogue
John:
abulisi:
John:
abulisi:
John:
abulisi:
John:
abulisi:
John:
abulisi:
John:
s-salamu alaykum.
wa alaykum s-salam, mak ixs
s
an?
ityaka iyyi yan s
-s
ak.
waxxa, fkiyyi l-ppaspurnk.
dari ir lakar d sijur, hak.
mai mukil, man l-wqt ak idda
-s
s
ak?
3:00 n tdggat.
mamnk iga umxxar lli ak yukrn
-s
s
ak?
izzif, ilsa djin d yan tiurt
azgga.
ma gis illan
s-s
ak?
gis l-ppurt
abl d l-fut
a d yan
l-ktab d yat l-musjjala
(walkman) d 200 drhm.
abulisi: waxxa, a sidi. ra nskr yan l-bt

mn bd rasrk nttas
l.
John: s
afi, ir a ddu?
abulisi: uhu, uwr ar tawit yat n-nsxa n
r-rappur.
John: waxxa ukran.
abulisi: hak, ra srk ntts
l mn bd. kun
la bal tikklt yad
nin.
.

.
.
.
:
:
:
:
:
:
. 3:00 :
:
. :
:
:
. 200 )(
. :
.
:
. :
. :
.
:
.
English Translation
John: Peace be upon you.
police officer: Peace be upon you too. Can I help you?
John: My bag was stolen
police officer: Okay, your passport, please.
John: I have only my carte de sejour. Here you are.
police officer: Thats okay. When was it stolen?
John: At 3:00 in the afternoon.
police officer: Can you describe the thief?
John: He was tall and was wearing jeans and a red Tshirt.
police officer: What did you have in the bag?
John: A cell phone, a towel, a book, a walkman, and
200 dirham.
police officer: Okay, sir, well do our investigation and well get
in touch with you later.
John: Thats it? Can I leave?
police officer: Wait a minute, youve got to take a photocopy of
the report.
John: Okay, thanks.
police officer: Here you are. Well get in touch with you. Be
careful in the future.
House Security / Doors and Windows

Vocabulary
Lock
qfl
Welder
s-sudur
latch / bolt
s-saqt
a
sliding metal bolt

for locking doors
z-zkrum
iron bars
barrat n
l-did
hardware
store
d-drogri
Dialogue
Jamal: s-salamu alaykum.
Carlos: wa alaykum s-salam.
mrba bik.
Jamal: ma tskart tgmmi?
Carlos: walu, ir ggiwr.
Jamal: yallah a nf.
Carlos: waxxa.
Jamal: mayad? l-qfl ad immut,
ixs
s
ak yan is
an d yat
.
:
. .
:

.
.
.

.
:
:
:
:
:
138 talit
s-saqt
a ba a tqqnt
ugns.
Carlos: mani ra tn s?
Jamal: d-drugri. ula s-srjm
ad xs
s
ant l-barrat n
l-did ba a thnnat.
yallah a nddu s dar
-s
s
udur a ns
awb s-srjm
ad bda, ixs
s
ak ir a
tamzt l-barns.
waxxa, llay rm
Carlos:
l-waldin.
:
. :
.

.
. :
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
ma yskar Carlos?
ma ygan l-mukil ns?
ma t ixs
s
an a t iskr?
mani ira ad is l-qfl d s-saqt
a?
mani ira a ys
awb l-barrat?
English Translation
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Peace be upon you.

And peace be upon you too. Welcome.
What are you doing at home?
Nothing, just sitting around.
Lets go out.
Okay.
What is this? This lock is not strong. You need a strong one. You also need a
sliding metal bolt in order to lock the door from the inside.
Carlos: Good idea. Where can I get these from?
Jamal: From the hardware store. Also this window needs iron bars for you to feel safe.
Lets go to the welders to fix this window now. You need to measure it.
Carlos: Okay, may God bless your parents.
Political Harassment
Vocabulary
to end
sbd / bs
War
l-rb
Citizen
muwat
in
normal
adi
freedom
l-uriya
democracy
d-dimuqrat
iya
population,
people
-b
against
udd
d
to kill
subject
mud
u
Dialogue
iggiur Ben l-qhwa ar yaqra
"Newsweek", ilin middn ar tfrrajn
"Al Jazeera." yan urgaz inna yas i
Ben:
muwat
in: sawl d Bush a ybs l-rb
" "
:" ."
. :

ad.
Ben: nkki gi ir muwat
in adi
mirikan, ukid s
l-mrib ba ad awn
middn, ayad ad sn.
muwat
in: walaynni ar ttinim darun
l-urriya d d-dimuqrat
iya.
Ben: iyyah, awalnna is
a,
walaynni nkki ir yan
-b ad gi.
:

.
.
:

.
. :
muwat
in: kulkum zun zund, ar ttirim
. %50
l-rb mirikan. kt
r mn
.
50% n middn ddan d l-rb.
ula kiyyi tgit gisn.
Ben: uhu, nkki gi 50% lli ur
. %50 :
irin l-rb.
:
muwat
in: mamnk s ra nisan?
:
Ben: mamnk s rak qn?
muwat
in: ur sn, walaynni mirikan
. :
awrsul tnqqa ibadllah.
. :
Ben: ttafq didak.
tqamad yan rbit n middn ar sawaln f
.
l-mud
u ad ar smuqquln Ben. inkr
.
Ben ixlls
l-qhwa iddu balt.
Questions

.1
1. mani illa Ben?
.2
2. ma yskar?
.3
3. mad skarn middn?

4. ma yskar Ben l-mrib?
.4
5. is iga Ben d
udd l-rb?
6. ma yskr Ben mlli ad sawaln middn
f l-rb?

.5
.6
English Translation
Ben was sitting in a caf reading Newsweek. Some people there were watching Al-Jazeera. One
of the men at the caf said to Ben:
Moroccan citizen: Talk to Bush about stopping this war.
Ben: Im just a normal citizen from America. My job is to help people in Morocco.
Thats all I know.
Moroccan citizen: But in America you say you have freedom and democracy.
Ben: Thats true, but I am just a normal American.
Moroccan citizen: You are all the same. You all like war. In America more than 50% of the people
are for the war. You are one of them.
Ben: No, I am with the other Americans against the war.
Moroccan citizen: How are we going to know?
Ben: How can I convince you?
Moroccan citizen: I dont know but America must stop killing people.
140 talit
Ben: I agree.
A group of people in the caf kept talking about the subject of the war. They were looking at Ben.
Ben paid for his coffee and left.
Appendices
Pronunciation of talit.............................................................................................................................144
The talit Alphabet: tifina
talit has its own alphabet, tifina. The amazi language, of which talit is a dialect, has recently
been introduced as an instructional language in some schools. According to IRCAM (Institut Royal de
la Cultur Amazighe), tifina is as follows, with examples :
azul
ibawn
avanim
cwy
awal
ddu
xnifra
kem
asays
tafulast
aslm
agadir
taclpit
ahddun
amaziv
//
izm
aru
jllx
akaj
askka
islman
abun
mraw
asemmi
nkr
gw
ai
oafak
kw
ar
apwac
arqqas
itza
amur
keVin
/ / / /
uccen
imawn
other letters needed for talit
There are many more letters in tifina. These letters represent sounds that are not standard and may
be only found in certain areas.
(hard th)
aki
(emphatic )
muwaaf
J (hard j)
acuwa
(soft th)
aman
uma
qw
arab
142 talit
xw
mmr
Although the chance may be slight, you also might see these letters, especially with scripts from other
amazi countries:
emphatic b
Ahaggar j
emphatic
Tuareg j
^^
Berber Academy J
gn
Tuareg gn
Tuareg k
ng
Tuareg ng
emphatic x
Tuareg w
Tuareg b
Tuareg
Berber Academy h
Ayer
Tuareg h
Adrar j
Tuareg x
Tawellemet z
Tuareg q

Supplementary Grammar Lessons ..................................................................................................148
More Useful Expressions........................................................................................................................... 161
Moroccan Holidays....................................................................................................................................163
Glossary of Verbs ....................................................................................................................................... 167
144 talit
Pronunciation of talit
Despite what you may think at first, it is indeed possible for you to learn how to pronounce the sounds
of talit. Learning to pronounce talit sounds correctly entails two things: first, becoming aware of
how to make the different sounds and, second, practicing with a native speaker. This chapter will help
you with the first task.
Understanding How Sounds Are Made

Before we move directly into how to pronounce talit sounds, lets first understand how sounds are
made in general. Then we can use this knowledge in order to work on Arabic sounds.
Fricatives and Stops

Make the /s/ sound. Notice how air is being forced through the space between your tongue and the
gum ridge in your mouth. When a sound is produced like this, by forcing air between some small
opening, that sound is called a fricative. Make the /f/ sound. This sound is also a fricative, because in
order to make it we must force air between our teeth and our bottom lip. Some sounds in English that
are fricatives are: /s/, /z/, /sh/, /th/, /f/, /v/, and others.
Now make the /t/ sound. Here, we are not forcing air through a small opening at a constant pressure,
but rather we completely block the air flow for a moment, and then release the air stream in one big
burst. A sound that is produced by blocking the air flow, and then releasing it, is called a stop. Make
the /k/ sound. This is another stop because again, you will notice how we build up a lot of pressure
with air, and then release it. Some stops in English are: /t/, /k/, /g/, /b/, /p/, and others.
Voiced and Voiceless Sounds

We can also categorize consonant sounds according to whether we use our voice box or not. Make the
/s/ sound. While making the sound, hold your hand over your throat. Now make the /z/ sound, still
holding your hand to your throat. Youll notice that with /s/, we dont use our voice box, but with /z/,
our voice box vibrates. Sounds like /s/ are called voiceless, since we dont use our voice box. Sounds
like /z/ are called voiced, since our voice box vibrates. Make the sound /t/. Is it voiceless or voiced?
Now make the sound /d/. Voiceless or voiced?
Lets look now at some of the difficult talit sounds, using what we know about sounds in general.
Pronunciation of Non-English Consonants

The Sound q ()
The q sound is similar to the k sound. Both are voiceless stops that are made by releasing air
forcefully after completely blocking the air flow momentarily. The only difference is where in the
throat the speaker blocks the air flow. The q sound will be made further back in the throat than the k
sound. Try the following exercise.
First, take a minute to become more familiar with your throat muscles. Open your mouth and say aah,
as if you were at the doctors office. Your tongue should be flat in your mouth. Without raising your
tongue, pull it back so that the base of your tongue closes off air by pulling back against the throat. At
this point, you should not be able to breathe through your mouth, although it is wide open. Practice
doing this first without making a sound. After performing this exercise several times, make a sound by
releasing the air forcefully. The result will be the sound q.
The Sound x ()
The sound x is a voiceless fricative formed around the same place as the sound q. It is found in many
European languages: the Russian x, the Scottish pronunciation of loch, and the German ch as
pronounced after a back vowel as in Bach. Some people use this sound to say yech! To pronounce x,
The /t/ sound is voiceless and the /d/ sound is voiced. Both are stops.

make the sound q and pay attention to where the back of your tongue hits the back of the roof of your
mouth and blocks your windpipe. Instead of closing off the windpipe with the back of your tongue
completely, block it part way, and you will produce this sound.
The Sound ()
The sound is the same sound as the sound x, except it is voiced. In other words, if you can make
the sound x, all you need to do is vibrate your voice box at the same time, and you will produce .
Think of the correspondence between the sounds k (kite) and g (game): k is voiceless and g is voiced.
Pronounce k and g several times, paying attention to how your voice changes when you say g. Now say
x several times, and then voice it. The result is .
Alternatively, you may think of as similar to the sound you make when gargling. Gargle for a minute
and pay attention to the muscles you use. The sound is pronounced using these same muscles in
similar fashion.
The Emphatic Sounds s

(), d
(), and t
()
The sound s
is the emphatic counterpart of the sound s. Pronounce the sound s aloud, and note the
position of your tongue. It should be toward the front of the mouth and high, close to the roof. Now,
starting at the back of your teeth, move your tongue back along the roof of your mouth. You will find a
bony ridge just behind the teeth, before the upward curve of the roof. Put your tongue against this
ridge. The rest of your tongue will drop lower inside your mouth. The emphatic or velarized
consonants in talit are pronounced by placing the tip of your tongue in this spot and dropping the
rest of the tongue as low as you can. Thus, the sounds s
, d
, and t
are all made with the tongue in this
position.
All the emphatic sounds are lower in pitch than their non-emphatic counterparts. They are
pronounced with greater muscular tension in the mouth and throat and with a raising of the back and
root of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth. You can notice this contraction of the throat easily by
prolonging the l in full.
The Sound ()
The sound is a voiceless fricative pronounced deep in the throat. It has no equivalent in English. In
order to practice this sound, first take a few minutes to become better acquainted with some of your
throat muscles that you use often, but not to speak English. The following exercises are designed to
make you aware of what these muscles can already do, so that you can use them to speak Arabic.
Practice them for a few minutes every day, as often as you can.
1. With your mouth closed, block off your windpipe at your throat. Put your hand on your throat
at the Adams apple and constrict the muscles on the inside. You should be able to feel the
muscles contracting. Alternately tighten and relax them for a few minutes.
2. Repeat this with your mouth open. Try to breathe out through your mouthif you can, you are
not closing off the windpipe entirely.
3. Constrict those same muscles so that air can just barely squeeze through your throat. Imitate
someone fogging a pair of glasses to clean them. The sound of the air coming through your
constricted throat muscles is . By now, you should be aware of what your throat muscles are
doing.
4. Bend your head down so that your chin rests on the top of your chest, and repeat exercise 3.
This position should make it easier for you to feel what you are doing.
Pronouncing takes practice, first to pronounce the letter alone, and then to pronounce it surrounded
by other letters in a word. You must learn to pronounce it properly to be understood, and at first, this
will take some concentration on your part. However, the more you practice now, the sooner you will be
able to say it easily.
The Sound )(
We now come to one of the most distinctive sounds in talit: . When pronounced correctly, has its
own unique beauty and can be a very expressive sound. It is not as difficult to pronounce as one may
first think, but you need to exercise your throat muscles, the same ones that you use to pronounce .
146 talit
You should continually be doing the exercises you learned above for , in which you constricted your
throat muscles as if you were blocking off the air passage from the inside. You can feel this by putting
your hand on your throat. Say , and feel the muscles contract. Now pronounce the same sound and
voice it. That is, say the say sound while vibrating your voice box, changing the breathy sound of
into the deep, throaty sound of . The sounds and are only different because is voiceless and is
voiced.
Some trainees think that sounds like a vowel, but it is not a vowel. Because we constrict our throat
muscles and force air through the passageway, the sound is a fricative. Vowels do not force air
through a partially blocked passageway, and thus cannot be fricatives.
The talit r ()
The sound r in talit is not the same as the English r. It is not difficult, like some of the other sounds
above may seem at first. But because it is new, we include here a short description of it. The sound is a
flap, like the Spanish or Italian r. You already know how to make this sound: it is the sound
American English speakers make saying gotta as in gotta go. Say gotta several times in a row very
quickly and pay attention to what your tongue is doing. You should feel it flapping against the roof of
your mouth behind your teeth. Now pronounce the sound alone. Another good exercise is to practice
making a whirring sound: rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Do these exercises daily until you have mastered this
sound.
Pronunciation of Shedda
In talit, a shedda is a pronounced stress upon a letter in a word. In transcription, this stress is
indicated by a doubling of a consonant (see page 3). When there is shedda, it indicates that the
consonant is to be held twice as long as a normal consonant. That is, it should be pronounced for twice
the length of time. This is easy with fluid sounds like z or r. With sounds like b or d, however, you
must begin to say them and pause in the middle of pronouncing them for a second. This may take
some practice at first.
In English, this doubling of a consonant sound never occurs in the middle of words, but is very
common from the end of one word to the beginning of another. Compare the difference between the
single d in lay down and the double dd in laid down. Noticing the difference between the single
d and double dd in this example will give you some idea of how a shedda affects pronunciation.
It cannot be stressed enough that shedda affects not only the pronunciation of a word, but
also its meaning, especially for verbs. Recognizing when shedda is used and learning to
pronounce it correctly yourself is an important task in your study of talit.
The Definite Article

In English, the definite article is the word the. It is different from the indefinite articles, which
are a and an. In English, the definite article speaks about something specific: I washed the dog
today (you know which dog Im speaking about). The indefinite articles talk about something nonspecific: I saw a dog today (you dont know the dog Im speaking about).
In Arabic, the definite article is not always used exactly as in English. When written in Arabic script, it
is composed of two letters, al (), attached to the beginning of a noun or an adjective. Here is the
Arabic script for the book:
the definite article
These two letters are always written in Arabic script for a definite article, but they are not always
pronounced. In talit, the first letter, a (), is never pronounced. Two possibilities exist, therefore, for
pronouncing the definite article. Sometimes, the second letter, l (), is pronounced. Other times,
instead of pronouncing the l (), the first letter of the word is doubled with a shedda. Whether the
definite article is pronounced with l or by doubling the first letter with shedda is determined by
which letter is the first letter of the word. Lets look at these two different possibilities.
The Moon Letters

In the first possibility, the Arabic definite article is pronounced with an l ( )at the beginning of a word.
All words that begin with the following letters follow this rule:
i/y
u/w
These letters are called moon letters, because the Arabic word for moon, qamar, begins with one of
the letters in the group. Notice in the following examples that the definite article is pronounced by
adding an l to the word:
ktab
qamija
a book
a shirt
l-ktab
l-qmija
the book
the shirt
bab
l-bab
a door
the boy
kas
l-kas
a glass
the glass
The Sun Letters
In the second possibility, the Arabic definite article is pronounced by doubling the first letter of a word
with a shedda. All words that begin with the following letters follow this rule:
n
These letters are known as sun letters, because the Arabic word for sun, ms, begins with one of the
letters in the group. Notice in the following examples that the definite article is pronounced by
doubling the first letter of the word by using shedda.
a box
the box
a brush
the brush
snduq
-s
s
nduq
ita
-ita
a soap
the soap
sabun
-s
s
abun
148 talit
The talit Alphabet: tifina

talit has its own alphabet, tifina. The amazi language, of which talit is a dialect, has recently
been introduced as an instructional language in some schools. According to IRCAM (Institut Royal de
la Cultur Amazighe), tifina is as follows, with examples 1:
/ / / /
azul
uccen
ibawn
avanim
cwy
awal
ddu
xnifra
kem
asays
tafulast
aslm
agadir
taclpit
ahddun
amaziv
//
izm
aru
jllx
akaj
askka
islman
abun
mraw
asemmi
nkr
gw
ai
oafak
kw
ar
apwac
arqqas
itza
amur
keVin
imawn
other letters needed for talit
There are many more letters in tifina. These letters represent sounds that are not standard and may
be only found in certain areas.
(hard th)
aki
(emphatic )
.
muwaaf
J (hard j)
acuwa
(soft th)
aman
uma
arab
Letters taken from http://www.ircam.ma and http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2D30.pdf
mmr
Although the chance may be slight, you also might see these letters, especially with scripts from other
amazi countries:
emphatic b
Ahaggar j
emphatic
Tuareg j
^^
Berber Academy J
gn
Tuareg gn
Tuareg k
ng
Tuareg ng
emphatic x
Tuareg w
Tuareg b
Tuareg
Berber Academy h
Ayer
Tuareg h
Adrar j
Tuareg x
Tawellemet z
Tuareg q
150 talit
Supplementary Grammar Lessons

These are lessons you can work on by yourself or with your tutor once you arrive at your site. It is
unlikely you will be able to complete them during stage, unless you already have some experience with
Arabic.
talit Numbers
As previously explained, most speakers of talit use Arabic numbers. However, we do have talit
numbers, which are below. It is important that you learn these numbers, as well, because in some
areas, both Arabic and talit numbers are used interchangeably.
Masculine
Feminine
one
yan
yat
two
sin
ynat
three
krad
krat
four
kuz
kuzt
five
smmus
smmust
six
sd
is
sd
ist
seven
sa
sat
eight
tam
tamt
nine
tza
tzat
ten
mraw
mrawt
Eleven
yan d mraw
Twelve
sin d mraw
Thirteen
krad
d mraw
Fourteen
kuz d mraw
Fifteen
smmus d mraw
Sixteen
sd
is d mraw
Seventeen
sa d mraw
Eighteen
tam d mraw
Nineteen
tza d mraw
Twenty
rin
Twenty-one
rin d yan
Twenty-two
rin d sin
Twenty-three
rin d krad
Twenty-four
rin d kuz
Twenty-five
rin d smmus
Twenty-six
rin d sd
is
Twenty-seven
rin d sa
Twenty-eight
rin d tam
Twenty-nine
rin d tza
Thirty
rin d mraw
Forty
sin ida rin
Fifty
sin ida rin d mraw
Sixty
krad
ida rin
Seventy
krad
ida rin d mraw
Eighty
kuz ida rin
Ninety
kuz ida rin d mraw
One hundred
miya
One thousand
alf
Making Intransitive Verbs into Transitive

Verbs
Intransitive verbs are verbs that do not require a direct object such as:
to come in
km
to remember
kti
to arrive
lkm
to drink
su
to laugh
ssa / ts
t
s
a
to understand
fhm
to fall
r
d
to get up
nkr
to win
rb
to be late
mat
l
All these verbs can be made transitive by prefixing an s ( )to them. The new transitive verb normally
has the meaning to make someone do something. Look at how the meaning changes when the
intransitive verbs fhm to understand and t
ssa ( )are changed into a transitive verb:
You are understand.
tfhmt
Make me understand.
sfhmiyyi
152 talit
You laugh / are laughing.
ar t
ssat
You make me laugh.
ar iyyi tst
sat
Here is a list of verbs commonly used in their transitive form:

to make (so/sth) enter / to bring
in
skm
to make (so/sth) laugh
st
sa
to remind (make so remember)
skti
to drop / to throw down (i.e. to

make something fall)
sd
r
to make (so/sth) work
sxdm
to water (i.e. to make sth drink) swu
to make (someone) understand

/ to explain
sfhm
to make (so) get up / to wake

(so) up
snkr
to make (so) arrive
slkm
to make (so) win
srb
to make (so) be late
smat
l
Some examples:
I brought in a dog to the house
but my father took it out.
skn yan wiydi s tgmmi

walinni issuft baba.
Wake up your brother.
snkr gmak.
Turn on the TV, please.
sxdm t-tlfaza, afak.

.
.
.
Passive Verbs
Transitive verbs can be made passive by adding t ( )to them, as shown below:
to write
ar
to be written (m, s)
ityara
to be written (f, s)
ttyara
to be written (m, p)
tyaran
to be written (f, p)
tyarant
to understand
fhm
to be understood (m, s)
itwafham
to be understood (f, s)
ttwafham
to be understood (m, p)
twafhamn
to be understood (f, p)
twafhamnt
to buy
to be bought (m, s)
itwasa
to be bought (f, s)
ttwasa
to be bought (m, p)
twasan
to be bought (f, p)
twasant
to steal
akr
to be stolen (m, s)
ityakar
to be stolen (f, s)
ttyakar
to be stolen (m, p)
tyakarn
to be stolen (f, p)
tyakarnt
Hassan wrote the lesson.
yara sn d-drs.
The lesson was written.
d-drs ityara.
The students understood the

riddle.
fhmn t-tlamd l-luz.
The riddle was understood.

A thief stole the books.
l-luz itwafham.
The books were stolen.
l-ktub tyakarn.
tsa fat
ima krat
l-ksawi.
l-ksawi twasant.
Fatima bought three skirts.

Skirts were brought.
yukr umxxar l-ktub.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Exercise: Put the sentences below in the passive form.

1. ts
bbn Nadya l-wayjns.
2. ijr Omar ad
ad
n s l-mus.
3. kra n yan ikra tigmmi ad.
4. znzan t
-t
umubil.
5. lbn tkurt id
gam.
6. swi aman.
. .1
. .2
. .3
. .4
. .5
. .6
154 talit
The Verb used to

used to
ikkatin
kkibit
nkkatin
tkkitin
tkkamtin
ikkatin
tkkamtint
tkkatin
kkantin
kkantint
kkitin ar tum bzzaf.

ikkatin ar itxdam
He used to work in this hospital. s-sbit
ar ad.
They used to speak French very kkantin ar sawaln
tafransist mzyan.
well.
I used to swim a lot.
I used to smoke a lot.
kkitin ar kmmi bzzaf.
.
.
.
.
Verb Participles
Verb participles are adjectives derived from verbs. They agree in gender and number, like all
adjectives, but not in person (I, you, he) or tense (past, present). Transitive verbs have two participles,
an active and a passive participle. Intransitive verbs have only an active participle.
Singular Participle (3rd person (m, s) past tense + n)

3rd person (m, s)
past tense
Verb
Participle Form
to talk
sawl
isawl
isawln
to sleep
gn
ign
ign
to be
iga
igan
to give
fk
ifka
ifkan
to take
asi
yusi
yusin
to send
azn
yuzn
yuznn
to do
skr
iskr
iskrn
to steal
akr
yukr
yukrn
to break
rzz
irzza
irzzan
to see
zr
izra
izran
to eat
ia
ian
Adjectives form their participle in the same way:

Adjective 3rd
person (m, s)
Adjective
Participle Form
nice
ila
ilan
ugly / bad
ixn
ixn
old / big
imqqur
imqqurn
small /
young
imzzy
imzzyn
tall / long
igzzif
igzzifn
short
igzzul
igzzuln
hot
ira
iran
cold
ibrrd
ibrrdn
rare
idrus
idrusn
Plural Participle (past tense + in)

Verb
3rd person (m, s)

past tense
Participle Form
to talk
sawl
sawln
sawlnin
to sleep
gn
gn
gnin
156 talit
to be
gan
ganin
to give
fk
fkan
fkanin
to take
asi
usin
usinin
to send
azn
uzn
uznin
to do
skr
skrn
skrnin
to steal
akr
ukrn
ukrnin
to break
rzz
rzzan
rzzanin
to see
zr
zran
zranin
to eat
ani
anin
Adjectives form their participle in the same way:

Adjective
Adjective 3rd
person (m, s)
Participle Form
nice
lan
lanin
ugly / bad
xn
xnin
old / big
mqqurn
mqqurnin
small /
young
mzzin
mzzinin
tall / long
zzifn
zzifnin
short
gzzuln
gzzulnin
hot
ran
ranin
cold
brrdn
brrdnin
rare
drusn
drusnin

Which one is yours?
manwa igan wink?
Who robbed the bank?
ma yukrn l-banka?
Who broke the glass of the

window?
ma yrzan j-jaj n -rjm

ad?
Who has eaten my pizza?
ma yan l-ppitzanu?
Who took the money from the

wallet?
ma yusin l-flus
l-bzt
am?
I bought a nice rug.
si yat tzrbit ilan.

fkiiyi yat kuka ibrdn
afak.
Give me a cold Coke, please.

.
.
Exercise: In the sentences below, supply the proper form of the participle of the verb
or adjective written in parentheses.
1. ma (sawl) sul d l-austad nk?
)( .1
2. manwa (azn) tabrat ad i l-mudir?
)( .2
3. timarin ad (igzul, ila)

4. ri imik n wman (ira)
( ).3
( ).4
)( .5
5. ma (snu) imkliy ad?

6. man gitun (fk) l-flus i mid?
)( .6
Relative pronouns
That, who, which
lli
Where is the money that I lent

you?
manza l-flus lli ad

rd
l?
Where is the girl who sells

carpets?
manza tafruxt lli iznzan

tizrbay?
The woman who opened is the

door is beautiful.
tamart lli irzmn

tiflut, tla.
The house which I bought is

small.
tigmmi lli si fmzzi.
what/ who
ma
I want to see what he has

brought.
ri ad zr ma ysa.
I heard what you said.
sfld ma tnnit.
I saw what he stole from her

house.
zri ma yukr tgmmi

ns.
She wanted to know who went

out.
tra a tsn ma yfn

.
.
.
.
.

158 talit
in which
lli
The house, in which they live, is

big.
tigmmi lli zdn tmqqur.
The glass, in which he poured

tea, is dirty.
l-kas lli iffi atay

irka.
to which
llis
The souq, to which he went, is

always crowded.
ar itmmar s-suq llis

rad iddu.
The country, to which he will go,

is too far.
tamazirt llis rad iddu

taggug bzzaf.
the one (m) who
walli
I know the one who did this.
sn walli iskrn ayad.
the ones (m) who
willi
He saw the ones who left.
izra willi ifn.
the one (f) who
xttalli
I know the one you are talking

about.
sn xttalli f tsawalt.
the ones (f) who
xttilli
The ones who ate dinner went to xttilli ian imnsi

ddant ad gnt.
bed.
.
.
.
.
Conjunctions
if
imma ... wlla
ri ad sn is illa
tgmmi
I want to know if youve read this ri ad sn is trit
l-ktab ad.
book.
I want to know if he is at home.
He asked if he is going with him

to the forest.
isaqsa is ra yddu dids s

tagant.

.
.
* We often complete these sentences by adding nd uhu? or not?

Tell me if you are free, or not.
iniyyi is tsalat nd uhu
that
is
I know that she is here.
sn is tlla id.
He thought that they went to the

river.
ial is ddan s wasif.
.

.
*is becomes izd after a noun or pronoun.

I thought that it was you.
al izd kiyyi.
I heard that it was this woman

who said that.
sfld izd tamart ad a

ynnan ayan.
.
.
when / since
lli
I didnt see them when they left.
lli dark l-xdmt bzzaf,

max lli tddit s
s-sinima?
ur tn zri lli ddan.
When you left this morning, you

forgot your bag.
lli tddit sba ad, t

ttut s
-s
at
nk.
until
aylli / arki / ard
Since you have a lot of work,

why did you go to the cinema?

.
.
/ /
a- aylli (accomplished action)

yut argaz ad aylli
immut.
iggiwr l-bs aylli
He stayed in prison until he died. immut
b- arki/ard (unaccomplished action)
He hit this man until he died.
Leave the clothes in the sun until ajj l-wayj tafukt

arki zwan.
theyre dry.
I will not sleep until you come

back.
ur rad gn ard turrit.
as soon as
adukan
As soon as it rains, the farmers

begin to plow.
adukan id
r unzar, bdun
ifllan ar kkrzn.
As soon as she comes in, lock

the door.
adukan tkm, trglt

tiflut.
In order to
afad / ba (a)d
I study talit in order to

understand people.
ar aqra talit ba ad
fm middn.
Sleep early in order to get up

early.
gn zik ba a tnkrt zik.
I came to help people.
ukhd afad ad awn

middn.
because
aku
He didnt go to school because

he didnt wake up early.
aur iddi s l-mdrasa aku

aur ifaq zik.
He escaped because he was

afraid.
irul aku iks

ud
.
but
walaynni / walakin
I want to help you but I cant.
ri akm awn walaynni

ur i.
when / whenever
kudnna / agudnna
kudnna tqlq ar all.

kudnna tit, ssird
When you eat, wash your hands. ifassnk.
agudnna tlkmt, skr as
When you arrive, call her.
t-tilifun.
Whenever Im upset I cry
.
.
)(/
.
.
/
.
/
.
.
.
160 talit
although / even though
waxxa / mqqar
Even if its cold, Ill go to the

souq.
mqqar ikrm l-al, ra

ddu s s-suq.
Although John is not a Muslim,

he fasts.
waxxa ur igi John

amuslm, ar ittazum.
without
bla
The talked without thinking.
sawlnt bla ad fkkrnt.
He shaved without water.
issn bla aman.
or
nd
Send a letter or call him.
aznas tabrat nd skras

t-tilifun.
.
.
Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate conjunction from the list.
nd
is
lli
walaynni
waxxa
bla
arki
1. ur rad safr ___ twrrit.

2. ri ad duw ___ sunfu.
3. ran ad snn ___ tlla kra n l-mdrasa id.
4. ___ tmrid, tdda s dar ud
bib.
5. ur isafr ___ ur dars iqarid
n.
6. is trit atay ___ l-qhwa?
7. ar i tta ___ a yssird ifassn.
8. ___ tqlq, ar iyyi tsflid.
9. nttu ___ iga abukad
.
10. rad zr ___ gis llan waman.
11. ___ as sawl ar tlla.
12. ran ad umn ___ krmn waman.
aku adukan
ba ad
aylli
. ___ .1
. ___ .2
.
___
.3
. ___ .4
. ___ .5
___ .6
. ___ .7
. ___ .8
. ___ .9
. ___ .10
.
___ .11
. ___ .12
More Useful Expressions

You were given some useful expressions on pages 22 to 24. Here are more expressions, including many
God phrases.
God Phrases
May God bless your parents.
(used often when asking for a service /
information or to express gratitude to
someone)
lla y-rm l-walidin.
walidina u walidik.
ad yawi rbbi -ifa.
May God not show you any

harm. (a response to the above)
awr tizart l-bas.
May God magnify the good

deeds. (used to offer condolences for
ajarakum llah
ayrzq rbbi s
-s
br
ad as ifr rbbi
Our parents and yours. (a

response to the above)
May God cure you. (used to show

sympathy toward a sick person)
someones death)
May God make your child a

l.
good person. (used to complement a llah ys
parent on his/her child)
May God grant you grace. (used

when saying goodbye to a friend or
congratulating him/her on a job well
done)
May God grant you grace.

tbark llah lik.
lla y-bark fik.
I swear to God. (expresses that

what you said was true)
ullah.
Used to express excuse me when

someone does something for you, such
as: hands you socks or shoes, pours
water over your hands to wash them,
etc. It is also used when the speaker
mentions words like donkey or trash.
aak.
May God grant you pride and

honor. (used as a response to the
zzk llah.
above)
Used on the arrival of somebody la slamtk.

after a trip.
Response to the above.
lla y-sllmk.
May God make your life easier.
lla y-shl.
(said to beggars)
.
.
.
Other Expressions
Would you please help me?
awniyi, afak.
If you dont mind.
ila jat la xat

rk.
.
.
162 talit
It is my pleasure.
la r-ras u l-in.
Youre welcome.
la ukran la wajib.
God forgives.
lla y-sam.
It is all right. (no harm done)
i bas ma kayn.
There is no harm. (response to

apology)
ma fiha bas.
Thats fine.
thnna l-wqt
Im going on ...
ra ddu as n...
and Ill be back on ...
rad wrri as n...
Really ?/!
irbbi ?/!
!/
Its shameful.
uma
Shame on you.
uma fllak/fllam.
Its none of your business.
mai lk.
Hurry up.
srbi.
You are right.
dark l-qq.
I agree with you.
ttafq didak/ didam.
Watch out!
ndak!
Move aside.
balak.
How do we say ... in Arabic?

Is there another word?
Is there an easy word?
mamnk sa nttini... s
talit?
is tlla kra n l-klmt
yad
ni?
is tlla kra n l-klmt
irxan?
.
.
.

...
...
./
.
.
.

. /
...

Moroccan Holidays
Holidays in Morocco are extremely important and festive occasions. Women and girls have henna
parties and come out of their houses to celebrate. Visitors are entertained and gifts are exchanged
among friends. Particular religious rites are performed. Special sweets and foods are washed down by
glass after glass of mint tea as everyone gets caught up in the socializing and celebrating.
Religious Holidays
There are both religious and civil holidays in Morocco. The Gregorian calendar, based on solar
computation, is used for civil purposes. This is the calendar Westerners generally use.
The Islamic calendar, based on lunar computation, divides the year into twelve months which
reoccur in varying relationship to the Gregorian year and complete their cycle every thirty years of 355
days. These thirty-year cycles consist of nineteen years of 354 days and eleven years of 355 days. Thus,
the Islamic calendar gains 10 to 11 days a year on the Gregorian year.
This calendar is called the Hegiran calendar because its starting point was the hegira, when
Mohamed fled from Mecca in 622 of the Gregorian calendar. This calendar is used for religious
purposes in Morocco.
1st
Transcription
Name
muarram
2nd
afar
s
3rd
rabi l-luwl
4th
rabi t-tani
5th
jumada l-luwla
6th
jumada t-tanya
7th
rajab
8th
aban
9th
ramad
an
10th
uwal
11th
du l-qida
12th
du l-ijja
Month
Arabic
Festivals
10th of the month: taurt / amur
12th of the month: id l-mulud
15th of the month: bana

1st of the month: l-id mzzin
10th of the month: l-id mqqurn / tafaska
Here are descriptions of the major festivals:
taurt / amur
muarram, the first month of the Islamic year, is in Morocco called ayyur taurt, the month of
the taurt. It has derived this name from the feast on the tenth day of the month. This day, called
as taurt is the Islamic New Years Day. It is said that Allah created Adam and Eve, heaven and
hell, and life and death on the 10th.
The month of taurt is rich in magical qualities. The ninth and particularly the tenth day are
blessed days, and on the latter, many sacred or wonderful events are said to have taken place in the
past. In Morocco, baraka is also generally ascribed to those days. Magic, good, or evil is extensively
practiced on the taurt day and on the preceding night which is said to favor witches. People gather
and many wear masks and costumes and speak in disguised voices on the night before the taurt. It
is believed that magic practiced at this time of year will produce an effect which lasts for the whole year.
164 talit
Good food has a place in the rejoicing of taurt, in accordance with the traditional saying of the
Prophet, Who give the plenty to his household on the taurt day, God will bestow plenty upon him
throughout the remainder of the year. Cow, bullock, goat, sheep, dried dates, and eggs are fixed
according to local custom. Visits to the graves of relatives and alms-giving are common at this time.
Of great interest are the fire and water rites practiced at taurt, to which purificatory and other
beneficial effects are ascribed. On taurt eve, the bonfire night fires are built throughout the town
and the people sing and dance around them. The chief object of the rite is to purify men and animals or
to protect them from evil influences, since there is baraka (blessings) from those fires.
Similar effects are attributed to the water rites which even more frequently are practiced on the
following morning. It is a general belief that there is baraka in all water on this morning. To take a bath
on the morning of the taurt day is a very wide-spread custom, and in many cases it was expressly
said that it must be done before sunrise. Children are traditionally involved in this festival. They
dress-up, play small drums, and are given gifts during this holiday.
id l-mulud
In Morocco, the third month of the Islamic year is called ayyur l-mulud, the month of the mulud.
These names are given because of the feast celebrating the birth of the Prophet which commences on
the twelfth day of the month and lasts for several days. The mulud is a particularly blessed month and
all children born during it are considered fortunate.
The Prophets Birthday has more significance in Morocco because Morocco is a Kingdom rather
than a republic, and King Mohamed VI is a descendant of the Prophet. The anniversary is brilliantly
celebrated at the Imperial Palace in Rabat and in the evening in Sale a great procession of candles takes
place.
In Meknes the Aissaoua brotherhood has its own unique celebration worth seeing. Followers of the
holy man, l-hadi Ben Aissa throng to Meknes and play music, dance, celebrate and make what is called
the small pilgrimage to nearby saints tombs.
bana
The eighth month of the Moroccan year is called ban. On the fifteenth day a festival known as
bana takes place. According to legend, this is the day that Allah registers all the actions of mankind
which they are to perform during the year and all the children of men who are to be born and die in the
year.
Traditionally, barren women gather in homes in the neighborhood and cook a couscous meal with
special spices. This meal is eaten by the women and children at home or in the mosque. The barren
women in the group hope this will help them to give birth during the upcoming year.
bana is also the month before the month of fasting, Ramadan. People think of the difficult
month ahead and have a feast. Craftsmen guilds often have parties on this night involving music and
feasting.
laylatu l-qadr
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic year. The most important feature of Ramadan is the
complete abstinence from food, drink and sexual activity from daybreak to sunset. Every Muslim who
has reached the age of puberty must fast. Pregnant women, menstruating women, travelers, and those
who are ill are exempt from fasting, but should make it up at a later date.
According Islam, there is one night in Ramadan which is more important than any other, namely,
laylatu l-qadr, the night of power. The Koran is said to have been sent down to the Prophet on
that night. This night is one of the last ten nights of Ramadan, but its exact date has not been
discovered by anyone but the Prophet himself. Tradition fixes it to be one of the odd nightsthe 21st,
23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29thand in Morocco it is celebrated on the 27th day.

On the night of the 27th, the men go to the mosque to pray. From sundown to daybreak, the imam
(the prayer leader) reads the Koran. The complete Koran is read before the sun rises. It is believed by
some that the sky will open up during this night and wishes will ascend directly to Allah and be
granted. During the night, special meals of couscous are prepared and brought to the mosques. Those
unable to go to the mosque eat specially prepared meals at home. Each family gives part of the meal to
the poor.
l-id mzzin / amzyan
Immediately following Ramadan is l-id mzzin, or the little feast. Everyone stays up very late
hoping to hear the announcement that the new moon has been sighted and Ramadan and fasting are
over. When it has officially been sighted, a three-day festival ensues in which alms-giving plays a major
role. The alms usually consist of food items like wheat or barley, and each family does the best it can.
The chief religious rite of the feast is a prayer service at the mosque.
l-id mqqurn / tafaska
On the tenth day of the month du l-ijja, the last month of the year, the Islamic world
celebrates its yearly sacrificial feast. In Morocco it is known as l-id mqqurn or the great feast.
This is the central feast in Islam, comparable to and derived from the feast of the atonement,
Abrahams substitute sacrifice, for the remission of sins. Hence, the animal sacrificed must be mature
and without blemish.
Every family must have its own sheep just as Americans need turkeys for the proper celebration of
Thanksgiving. Those who cannot afford a sheep buy a lamb or another less expensive animal. In
Morocco, the animal cannot be slain until the King has killed his sheep. Then in each household, the
head of the family kills the sheep (sometimes a butcher is asked to come to the house and perform the
ritual). The sheep is eaten in an orderly fashion determined by local custom. For example, on the first
day, the liver, heart, stomach, and lungs are eaten. On the second day, normally the head and feet are
eaten. However, the head and feet can be eaten on the first day if that is the local custom. There are
purification and sanctification customs and rites that prepare the people for the holy feast and its
principal feature, the sacrifice. People must purify and sanctify themselves in order to benefit from the
holy feast and its sacrifice. Personal cleanliness should be observed. Men and boys visit the barber and
often make a trip to the hammam as well.
Henna is used not merely as a cosmetic, but as a means of protection against evil influences.
Women paint their hands with it and, in many cases, also their feet. Among some ethnic groups, henna
is also applied to domestic animals.
Alms-giving and prayer are two other purification rites practiced during the great feast. Gifts are
exchanged between family members and a portion of the meal is given to the poor. The day begins with
prayer. The chief praying ceremony takes place in the morning at the mosque.
Moussems
Many Moroccan communities commemorate local saints, or marabous, in a yearly festival or
moussem. Most moussems are held near the tomb of the marabou and involve music, dancing and
fantasia. For a very famous marabous moussem, people will come from very far away. Some very
famous moussems celebrate Moulay Bouchaib (near El Jadida), Moulay Brahim (near Marrakech),
Moulay Yaqub (Fes), and Moulay Idriss (Moulay Idriss). Many towns have their own moussems
known only to those in the region.
National Holidays
In addition to the religious holidays, some important civil holidays commemorating significant
events in Moroccos recent history are celebrated. The most important of these are Independence Day,
the Throne feast, Green March Day, and King Mohameds birthday.
The Festival of the Throne, or id l-r, is the biggest of the civil holidays. This festival
commemorates the coming to power of the King on July 30, 1999. Celebrations including parades with
166 talit
nationalistic anthems, usually occur in the cities with local government officials, like the governor,
making appearances. Traditionally during this holiday, country people come to visit their city relatives,
who are expected to feed and house them for the duration of the festival. There is often a special
emphasis on improving the appearance of the town prior to this holiday. City employees clean streets
and paint walls, and townspeople are sometimes required by government officials to paint their doors,
whitewash their houses, and display flags.
Green March Day is also celebrated by large parades in most of Morocco. This day commemorates
one of the greatest achievements of King Hassan II: the mobilization of 350,000 Moroccans for the
march into the Sahara territory. On November 6, 1975, the first Moroccan marchers, under the
leadership of the then Prime Minister Ahmed Osman, set out from Tarfaya and entered the Spanish
territory. During the celebration, those who went on the actual march once again dress up in green and
re-enact the march.
Independence Day, or id l-istiqlal, commemorates the November 18, 1956 return of
Mohamed V from his French-imposed exile in Madagascar. This day gives rise to receptions at the
Imperial Palace and parades and celebrations all over Morocco.
The last of these major national holidays celebrates the Kings Birthday, August 21, 1962. There are
many organized celebrations in Rabat and broadcasts on the radio praising the King.
Regional Festivals
There are also many regional festivals which are centered around a particular product in which a
region specializes. The product is displayed and sold; music and other activities take place in an
atmosphere similar to a country fair.
Some famous regional festivals are the Cherry Festival in Sefrou, the Date Festival in Erfoud, the
Rose Festival in El-Kelaa MGouna (near Ouarzazate), the Marrakech Folklore and Music Festival, and
the Immouzer Honey Festival (near Agadir).
One of the most interesting festivals in Morocco is the re-enactment of an ancient market in the
High Atlas mountains. At one time, these very isolated High Atlas tribes would gather yearly at a
specific point near Imilchil where many mountain paths met for the yearly market. Provisions for
many months were bought and sold and at one time one of the reasons for coming was to acquire a
bride. Men would meet a girl for the first time and pay her dowry then take her home. Some say this
practice still exists and others say it is just a re-enactment for tourists, but in any case, it is a large
market where many Berbers still buy many of the coming years provisions.
Religious, civil, and regional festivals are an excellent chance to get out and see interesting things,
meet people on an informal basis, and have fun. Dates of these celebrations can be obtained from the
national tourist office branches in many cities, but people in your community will usually provide you
with the information about your region.
It should be noted that the same festival may be celebrated somewhat differently in various sections
of the country. For example, in Errachidia Province, a far greater emphasis is put on Green March Day
than in other sections of Morocco because that province provided the first contingent for the march.
Be sure to check out the expectations of your community for a particular holiday, particularly in
terms of visitation, entertaining, gift-giving, and participation, so you can get as involved as possible
and enjoy the holidays.
Glossary of Verbs
This glossary provides both the present tense and past tense conjugations for the subject I, making it
possible for you to determine how to conjugate irregular verbs.
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
English
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
accept
qbl
tqbal
qbl
accompany
(so)
mun
tmunu
mun
accustom
myar
tmyar
myar
add
zayd
tziyad
zayd
afraid, to be
ks
ud
ks
ud
agree (with)
ttafq
ttaafq
ttafq
angry, to be
qllq
tqllaq
qllq
annoy
dd
s
ts
dda
dd
s
answer
jawb
tjawab
jawb
appear
bayn
tbiyan
bayn
arrest (sb)
bs
tbas
bs
arrive
lkm
tlkam
lkm
arrive, to make
slkm
slkam
slkm
ascend
li
aqlay
li
ask
saqsa
saqsa
ask (in
marriage)
xt
b
txt
ab
xt
b
assemble
(parts)
rkkb
trkkab
rkkb
attack
hjm
thjam
hjm
attend
ad
r
tad
ar
banter
tflla
tflla
tflla
bathe
tmmim
tmmnm
tmmim
be
beat sb (in a
game)
nru
befriend
ddukl
tdukkl
beg
alb
d
td
alab
begin
bdu
belch / burb
sgrai
sgii
believe (sb)
amn
believe in
amn s
ttiks
ad
ad
r
tgga
nrra
nr
bddu
sgraa
y
tsgi
ttamn
ttamn s
ddukl
alb
d
bd
sgrai
sgii
umn
amn s
168 talit
English
benefit (from)
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
stafd
Continuous
Imperative
stafad
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
stafd
betray
1
1
birth, to give
aru
ttaru
uru
bite
bi
bbi
bi
blow up (with
air)
skuf
ssuf
skuffu
skuf
tssuf
ssuf
bbaqqi
ssis
blow up
(explode)
bbaqqi
boil
ssis
born, to be
lul
tlul
lul
borrow
rd
l
rt
t
l
rd
l
sllf
bbaqqay
tsllaf
sllf
bow
knu
knnu
kn
break
rrz
trzza
rrz
breathe
sunfs
bring
awid
brush (hair)
md
build
bnu
bnnu
burn
rg
rrg
sunfus
ttawid
tmad
sunfs
iwi _ d
md
bn
rg
burst (a pipe)
bury
md
l
buy
call
hddn
txiyam
xiym
ttamz
umz
thlla
usi
nqs
tmd
al
ssaa
r i
aqra
calm, to be (to
not worry)
hddn
thddan
camp
xiym
capture
amz
care of, to take
thlla
carry
asi
carve (wood)
nqs
cash
srrf
catch
amz
cause
thlla
ttasi
tnqas
md
l
tsrraf
ttamz
sbbab
tsbbab
sbbab
change
bddl
tbddal
bddl
change
(money)
rrf
s
ts
rraf
rrf
s
change
(weather)
tbddl
tbddal
srrf
umz
tbddl
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
charge of, to be
in
tkllf
cheat
uu
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
tkllaf
tkllf
tuu
nql
fz
cheat (exam)
nql
tnqal
chew
fz
tfz
choose
sti
stti
sti
churn
sndu
sndaw
snd
clean
snqu
snqaw
snq
climb
li
aqllai
li
close
qqn
qqn
cold, to make
sbrrd
sbrrad
sbrrd
collect
smun
smunu
smun
complain about
atka f
ttatka
atka
complete
kmml
tkmmal
kmml
confuse
tiyar
tiyr
consult (with)
tiyr
tawr
(d)
( )
tawar
tawr
contact
ttas
l
ttas
l
ttas
l
cook
snu
snwa
cooperate
(with)
tawn
(d)
cough
tqqn
snu
( )
tawan
tawn
sku
skuu
sku
count
asb
tasab
asb
crazy, to be
nufl
tnufal
nufl
md
r
tmd
ar
md
r
snufl
snufal
snufl
smd
r
smd
ar
smd
r
crazy, to make
cross (road)
bbi
tbbi
bbi
cross-breed
lqqm
tlqqam
lqqm
cry
al
alla
ul
cry, to make
ssal
salla
ssul
cure
dawa
tddwa
dawa
cured, to be
jji
tjji
jji
cut
bbi
tbbi
bbi
cut (hair)
ssn
tssan
ssn
cut( a pattern
from cloth)
fs
s
l
tfs
s
al
fs
s
l
damage
sxs
s
r
sxd
ar
sxs
s
r
170 talit
English
dance
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
tt
a
rkz
trkaz
rkz
decrease
nqs
tnqas
nqs
dedicate
hdu
hddu
hd
defeat
nru
tnru
nr
defend
daf
tdafa
daf
nar
tnar
nar
delay
smat
l
deprive
rm
tram
rm
descend
ggz
tggz
ggz
describe
ws
f
ws
f
deserve
staqqa
staqqa
desire strongly
mmut f
mmut
destroy
xlu
xl
develop (film)
ssuf
ssufu
ssuf
sffu
tsffu
sffu
die
mmut
mmut
differ (from)
mxillif
tmtat
tmxilli
f
dig
qqaz
dirty, to make
rku
trku
rk
dirty, to get
srku
srkaw
srk
disappear
br
tbar
br
discipline
rbba
trbba
rbba
discuss (a
topic)
jmm
tjmma
jmm
dislike (use
negative)
ml
ttimal
ml
dissolve sth
sduwb
tsduwab
smat
al
ttus
af
tstaqq
a
tmtat
xllu
smat
l
mxillif
sduwb
fsi
fssi
fsi
divide
bd
u
bd
d
u
bd
divorce
llq
t
tt
llaq
llq
t
dizzy, to get
duwx
tduwax
duwx
dizzy, to make
sduwx
sduwax
sduwx
do
skr
drag
zzukr
draw up (water
from a well)
agm
skar
zzukur
ttagm
skr
zzukr
ugm
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
dream
warga
dress
lsu
dress up
(slang)
tfrks
drink
su
ssa
su
drink, to make
ssu
swa
ssu
drive
ug
s
wag
s
ug
s
drop sth
d
s
r
d
s
ar
d
s
r
drown
rq
traq
rq
drunk, to get
skr
tskar
skr
dry, to get
zwu
zggu
dry (a wet floor) jffaf

dye
b
s
tjffaf
jffaf
ts
ba
b
s
earn (money)
uwr
s
ts
uwar
uwr
s
easy, to make
srxu
srxaw
srx
eat
tta
eat breakfast
ft
r
tft
ar
economize
qtas
d
tqtas
ad
qtas
d
elect
ntaxb
tntaxab
ntaxb
embarrass sb
sm
sam
sm
embarrassed,
to be
tam
embrace
nng
tnnag
nng
embrace Islam
slm
tslam
slm
emigrate
hajr
thajar
hajr
empty
xwu
txuu
encourage
jj
tjja
jj
enjoy sth
tbr
ttbra
tbr
enroll
tsjjl
tsjjal
tsjjl
enter
km
km
envy
sd
tsad
erase
mi
escape
rwl
estimate
qddr
exchange
sbadl
exit
experience
jrrb
twarga
lssa
tfrkas
warga
ls
tfrks
zu
ft
r
xu
km
sd
mi
mi
rggl
rul
tqddar
qddr
sbaddal
tff
tjrrab
sbadl
f
jrrb
172 talit
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
expire
mmut
tmtat
mmut
face
mqabal
tmqabal
mqabal
facilitate
srxu
srxaw
srx
faint
sxf
tsxaf
sxf
fall
r
d
t
t
ar
r
d
fall, to make
sd
r
sd
ar
sd
r
fake
zuwr
tzuwar
zuwr
fart
skuzzi
skuzzi
falsify
zuwr
tzuwar
zuwr
fast
azum
ttzum
azum
fear
ksud
ttiksad
ksud
feed
swa
swaa
swa
ferment
xmmr
sxmar
xmmr
fight
(physically)
ma
tmaa
ma
fill
mr
tmar
mr
finance
quwm
tquwam
quwm
find
af
ttafa
uf
finish
kmml
tkmmal
kmml
fix
awb
s
ts
awab
awb
s
skuzzi
feel
l
s
ts
la
l
s
flatter (a
female)
al
ttal
al
flee
rwl
rggl
rwl
flip
sgllb
fly
ayyl
taba
ffarri
sgllab
ttayyal
tfarray
sgllb
uyyl
ffarri
follow
taba
forbid
mnu
tmnu
mn
forge
(signature)
zuwr
tzuwar
zuwr
forget
ttu
forgive
sam
tsama
sam
free
lq
t
tt
laq
lq
t
fry
qla
qlli
qla
full (of food), to

be
ba
tbaa
ba
ttaba
tattu
ttu
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
ba
tba
ba
fjjij
tfjjij
fjjij
nt
tnat
nt
gain
rb
trba
rb
gamble
qmmr
tqmmar
qmmr
gather
smun
smunu
smun
gather
jtam
tjtama
jtam
gaze
squrri
squrri
squrri
get
amz
ttamz
umz
get down
gz
tgz
gz
get on
li
aqlay
ni
tnay
fun, to have
get sick
mrd
get up
nkr
get used to
myar
give
fk
give a ride
slkm
give a speech
li
ni
mrd
nkkr
nkr
tmyar
myar
akka
slkm
tmrad
fk
slkam
xt
b
txt
ab
xt
b
give back
rar
trara
rur
glue
ls
s
q
tls
s
aq
ls
s
q
go
ddu
go ahead of/in
front of
zwur
zgguru
zwur
zwar
tzwar
zwar
go by
zri
zray
zri
go out
go through
zri
go up
li
gossip about
sawl f
govern
ttidu
tf
rzay
dd
zri
aqlay
li
sawal
sawl
km
tkam
km
grab
amz
ttamz
umz
graze
ks
kssa
ks
ksu
kssa
ks
greet
sllm
tsllam
sllm
grill
wi
tway
wi
grind
zd
a
zd
d
a
zd
a
zd
zzad
zd
174 talit
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
guarantee
mn
d
td
man
mn
d
guard
ssas
tssas
ssas
hand
zzl
tzzl
zzl
hang
agl
ttagl
ugl
hang to dry
fsr
tfsar
fsr
fssr
wq
happen
wq
jru
tjru
ijra
fr
tfra
fr
happy, to make sfr

harvest
mgr
sfra
sfr
mggr
hatch
tfqqs
hate
krh
tkrah
have
dar
dar
hear
sfld
sflid
sfld
heat
sr
srqqa
sr
help
awn
tawan
awn
hide sth
snfi
snfay
snfi
hide (oneself)
nfi
nffi
nfi
hire (a car)
kru
krru
kr
hit
ut
kkat
ut
hit, to be
ttut
hold
amz
ttamz
umz
hope
tmnna
tmnna
tmnna
hug
nnq
tnnaq
nnq
hunt
gummr
gummr
gummr
hurry
zrb
tzrab
zrb
ignore (slang)
miyk
ill, to be
mrid
ill, to make
smrid
imitate
qlld
tqllad
impose
bzzaz
tbzzaz
increase
zayd
infect
ada
inform
happy, to be
tfqqas
mgr
tfqqs
krh
-
ttut
miyk
tmrid
mrid
smrad
smrid
qlld
bzzz
tzayyad
zayd
tada
ada
lm
tlam
lm
inherit
wrt
turat
wrt
injure
jr
tjra
jr
tmiyak
English
install
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
skm
skam
skm
rkkb
trkkab
rkkb
insult
ayr
tiiyar
ayr
invite
rd
irrigate
ssu
irritate
sqlq
sqllaq
irritated, to be
qllq
tqllaf
joke
s
t
s
a
s
t
s
a
trad
suwa
rd
ssu
sqlq
qllq
s
t
s
a
tflla
tflla
tflla
judge
km
tkam
km
jump
rqz
trqaz
rqz
nd
u
nt
t
u
nd
u
qabl
tqabal
qabl
gabl
tgabal
gabl
keep house
kick (a ball)
ut
kiss
ssudm
ssudum
ssudm
knead
jn
tjan
jn
know
ssn
ttisan
ssn
late, to be
mat
l
tmat
al
mat
l
late, to make
smat
l
smat
al
smat
l
laugh
ssa
t
ssa
t
laugh, to make
st
ssa
st
ssa
st
ssa
lay down
srs
sras
srs
srus
lay eggs
kkat
ut
ssa
t
zd
r
tzd
r
zd
r
sd
r
sd
ar
sd
r
learn
tllm
leave
leave (a
house/city)
rl
tral
rl
lend
sllf
sllaf
sllf
let
lie
lift
tllam
tf
tllm
f
rd
l
rt
t
l
rd
l
ajj
ttaj
ujj
xxa
txxa
xxa
skirkis
skirkis
skirkis
skdubu
skdub
skdub
ttasi
asi
usi
176 talit
English
light
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
ssa
ssaa
ssa
ssr
ssr
ssr
like
jb
tjab
live (reside)
zd
tzda
zd
lock
rgl
rggl
rgl
look
sr
sar
zr
zrra
look after
gabl
look alike
rwas
look down (on

sb)
gr
look for
zr
tgabal
gabl
trwas
rwas
tgar
gr
tqllab
qllb
tbayyan
bayn
look like
qllb s
bayn
zund
look out
(window)
agg
ttagga
ug
lose
jlu
jllu
jl
love
iri
ttiri
ri
tmtat
mmut
mmut f
lower
zzugz
zzuguz
zzugz
naqs
tnaqqas
naqs
tkkm
n
s
make
skr
maltreat
(destroy)
krfs
manipulate
skar
skr
tkrfas
tkkm
tkkam
manufacture
n
s
ts
na
marry
tahl
ttahal
tahl
marry off
(daughter, etc.)
stahl
stahal
stahl
massage
(hammam)
kssl
tkssal
kssl
measure
br
br
meet
mnaggar
mnaggar
mnaqqar
tbar
tmnagga
r
tmnaqqa
r
mnaqqar
duwb
tduwab
duwb
fsi
fssi
fsi
fd
tfad
fd
su
ssu
melt
memorize
krfs
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
milk
zzg
tzzg
zzg
mistake, to
make a
lt
tlat
lt
mix
xllt
txllat
xllt
sri
sri
sri
move sth
smas
smassa
smus
move
mmas
tmassa
mmus
move residence rl
murder
n
tral
rl
need
tajja
ttajja
tajja
noise, to make
dd
s
tsdd
dd
s
oblige
bzziz
tbzzaz
bzziz
offer
hdu
thdu
hd
open
rzm
rzzm
rzm
operate
(surgical)
ft
tfta
ft
oppress
ddb
tddab
ddb
order sth
lb
d
td
lab
lb
d
order so
amr
ttamr
umr
owe
tfar
tfar
tfar
own
mlk
tmlak
mlk
pack
smun
smunu
smun
paint
b
s
ts
ba
b
s
participate
ark
tarak
ark
pass
zri
zray
zri
pass (exam)
nj
tnja
nj
patient, to be
br
s
ts
bar
br
s
pay
xlls
txllas
xlls
paid, to be
txlls
txllas
txlls
peel
qr
tqar
qr
permit
sam
tsama
sam
photograph
uwr
s
ts
uwar
uwr
s
photographed,
to be
ts
uwr
ts
uwr
pick (light fruit)
kks
pile up
sgudi
plant
zzu
tzzu
play
lb
tlab
nqqa
tkks
sguday
kks
sgudi
zz
lb
178 talit
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
plow
krz
kkrz
krz
possess
t
t
af
t
t
af
t
t
af
pour
ffi
tffi
pray
zzal
precede
zwar
prepare
sujad
print
ffi
zzul
tzwar
zwar
sujad
sujad
b
t
tt
ba
b
t
prohibit
mnu
tmnu
mnu
prune
zbr
tzbar
zbr
pull
jbd
jbbd
jbd
push
ti
tay
ti
put
srs
sras
srs
quarrel
zi
tzzi
zi
quiet, to be
fs
tfis
fs
quiet, to make
sfis
sfssa
sfis
raise
all
talla
ull
reach
lkm
lkkm
lkm
read
aqra
receive (a
letter)
amz
ttamz
umz
recognize
akz
ttakz
ukz
record
sjjl
tsjjal
sjjl
reduce
naqs
tnaqqas
naqs
refuse
agi
ttagi
agi
regret
ndm
tndam
ndm
rejoice
fr
tfra
fr
relax
sunf
release
lq
t
rely on
remain
remember
tzalla
tsunfu
sunf
tt
laq
lq
t
uwl
tuwal
uwl
ama
tama
ama
qama
tqama
qama
ql
tqal
ql
kti
tkti
kti
sktay
remind
skti
remove
kks
tkks
kks
renew
jddid
tjddad
jddid
rent
kru
krru
skti
kr
English
repair
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
dl
tdal
dl
l
s
ts
la
l
s
repeat
awd
tawad
awd
repent
tab
ttub
tab
reply
jawb
tjawab
jawb
request
alb
d
td
alab
alb
d
resemble
rwas
trwas
rwas
resign
staql
staqal
staql
respect
tarm
ttaram
tarm
respond
jawb
tjawab
jawb
rest
sunfu
tsunfu
sunf
return (to a
place)
wrri
turri
wrri
return sth
rar
trara
rur
ride
ni
tnay
ni
rinse
slil
slili
slil
rise (like the

sun)
li
aqlay
li
rise (to wake

up)
nkr
nkkr
nkr
rot
xsr
txsar
xsr
round, to go
uwr
d
td
uwar
uwr
d
rub
ukku
tukku
ukk
run
azzl
ttazzal
uzl
run away
rul
rggl
rul
rush
zrb
tzrab
zrb
satisfy
qn
tqna
save
bu
bbu
snfi
snfay
save (money)
smun
smunu
say
ini
ttini
scratch
kmz
kkmz
scream
swi
swiu
screw
ziyru
tziyru
see
zr
zrra
see one
another
mzr
tmzr
sell
znz
znza
180 talit
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
send
azn
ttazn
separate
bd
u
tbd
u
bt
t
u
set (the sun)
ru
tru
set up
rkkb
trkkab
sew
gnu
shake (palsy)
rgig
shake hands
with
shake out
share
gnu
trgig
sllm d
slam
ssus
tsus
ssussu
tbd
u
bt
t
u
kss
bd
u
shepherd
ks
shop (weekly
market)
tsuwq
tsuwaq
shop (food)
qd
u
tqd
u
shout
swi
swiu
show
ml
mmala
shower
duw
shut
qqn
tqqn
shut up
fssa
tfssa
sift
ssif
ssifi
sightsee
uwd
sign
sini
simplify
ssrxu
sing
irir
sink
ddm
rq
sit
skkius
gawr
tduwa
tuwad
tsini
ssrxaw
ttiri
tddm
traq
uwd
sini
ssrx
rir
ddm
rq
tskkius
tgawar
skkius
ggiwr
skin
azu
skip
ssiki
tssiki
ssiki
ssaki
ssakay
sssaki
slap (in the

face)
mrrq
tmrraq
mrrq
slaughter
rs
sleep
gn
ttazu
uz
qqrs
rs
ggan
gn
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
sleep, to make
sgn
sgan
sgn
slip
zlg
tzlag
zlg
td
tjllax
jllx
tkd
u
kd
kt
t
u
smear
jllx
smell
kd
u
smoke
kmi
kmmi
kmi
solder
lm
tlam
lm
speak
sawl
sawal
sawl
specialize
txs
s
s
spend money
rf
s
spend the day
kl
spend the night ns

spend time
zzri
txs
s
as
ts
raf
txs
s
s
rf
s
klla
kl
nssa
ns
zzray
zzri
spin
llm
spit
ssufs
ssufus
ssufs
ssutf
ssutuf
ssutf
splash
ru
truu
ru
stand
bidd
tbddad
bidd
start
bdu
bd
stay
skkiws
tllm
bddu
tskkius
llm
skkius
ggawr
tgawar
ggawr
stay up late
shr
tshar
shr
steal
akr
ttakr
ukr
step on
akl
ttakl
ukl
sting
qqs
tqqs
qqs
stink
jju
tjju
jj
stir
rrk
srrak
rrk
stop
bidd
tbddad
bidd
bs
tbas
bs
stop speaking
with
zi
tziyru
zi
strike (from
work)
skr
l-id
rab
skar
skr
study
aqra
succeed at
nj
suck
ssum
suffer
mrrt
tnja
nj
ssumum
ssum
tmrrat
mrrt
182 talit
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
tddb
tddab
tddb
survive
ti
swallow
lqi
lqqi
lqi
swear
ggal
tgalla
ggul
sweat
rg
trag
rg
sweep
t
t
b
tt
t
ab
t
t
b
swell
bzg
tbzag
bzg
swim
um
tum
um
switch (off)
ssns
ssns
ssns
sxsi
sxsay
sxsi
ssr
sra
ssr
ssa
ssaa
ssa
take
amz
ttamz
umz
take off
kks
tkks
kkks
take care of
thlla
thlla
thlla
take charge of
tkllf
tkllaf
tkllf
talk
sawl
sawal
sawl
tape (record)
sjjl
sjjal
sjjl
tape (scotch)
ls
s
q
tls
s
aq
ls
s
q
taste
md
i
mt
t
i
md
i
teach
sr
ssaqra
sr
sllm
sllam
sllm
switch (on)
tear something
bbi
tbbi
bbi
xrri
xrray
xrri
qb
tqab
qb
tflla
tflla
tflla
tell
ini
ttini
nni
think
fkkr
tfkkar
fkkr
xmmim
txmmam
xmmim
ttial
al
thddad
hddid
tease
think that
al izd
threaten
hddid
thresh
srut
throw
lu
tickle
skr hrr
tie (belt)
qqn
tighten
ziyr
tziyar
tired, to be
rmi
trmay
srwat
tluu
skar
hrr
lu
skr
qqn
ziyr
rmi
tqqn
srut
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
Continuous
Imperative
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
tired, to make
srmi
srmay
srmi
torture
sddb
sddab
sddb
touch
ggr
tggr
ggr
sli
slay
sli
train
sdrrb
sdrrab
translate
trjm
trjam
trjm
travel
safr
tsafar
safr
trick
mt
tmat
mt
try (to attempt

to do sth)
awl
tawal
awl
try (to
experience sth) jrrb
try on
qiys
tjrrab
jrrb
tqiyas
qiys
sdrrb
turn
sd
uwr
sd
uwar
sd
uwr
turn around
uwr
d
td
uwar
uwr
d
turn down
(volume)
snaqs
turn over sth
snqlb
snaqqas
snaqs
snqlab
snqlb
sgllb
sgllab
sgllb
twist
suwwj
suwwaj
suwwj
understand
fhm
understand, to
make
tfham
fhm
sfhm
sfham
sfhm
upset
sqllq
sqllaq
sqllq
upset, to be
tqllq
tqllaq
tqllq
use
stml
stmal
stml
use to, to be of
l
s
ts
la
l
s
used to, to
become
myar
tmyar
myar
useful, to be
nf
tnfa
nf
visit
kku
tkka
vomit
rar
brara
wait
qql
tqql
wake someone
snkr
wake up
nkr
walk
zzigiz
tzigiz
ssadu
ssadaw
walk around
uwws
want
iri
snkar
nkkr
tuswas
ttiri
kk
rur
qql
snkr
nkr
zzigiz
ssadu
uwws
ri
184 talit
English
Simple Imperative
(Infinitive)
warm / heat
ssr
warm, to be
Continuous
Imperative
ssra
rqqa
water
ssu
sswa
wash
ssird
ssurid
wash (clothes)
bbn
s
ts
bban
ugg
Past Tense
Pattern
Past Tense Stem
ssw
ssird
bbn
s
ssr
ttgga
siyq
iy
d
sxs
r
wash (floor)
siyq
siyaq
waste
iy
d
td
iya
sxs
r
sxs
ar
ugg
watch (TV)
tfrrj
tfrraj
tfrrj
wave
iyr
tiyar
iyr
wear
ls
lssa
ls
weep
al
alla
ul
weigh
br
tbar
br
welcome
rb
trab
rb
weld
sudi
tsuday
sudi
well, to be
jji
wet, to make
sfzg
wet, to be
fzg
whistle
tjji
jji
sfzag
sfzg
tfzag
fzg
yud
r
yud
r
ffr
s
ts
ffar
ffr
s
ins
s
ig
ins
s
ig
widen
sus
win
rb
wipe dry (floor)
jffif
wipe off
ins
s
ig
susa
trba
rb
tjffaf
jffif
ms
tmsa
ms
mi
tmay
mi
wiped out, to
be
sxf
tsxaf
sxf
wish
tmnna
tmnna
tmnna
witness
ahd
tahad
ahd
work
xdm
worry
tt
n
worth, to be
sus
txdam
tt
an
swu
tswu
sw
wound
jr
tjra
jr
write
ar
ttara
ara
ur
xdm
tt
n
Grammar Index
Adjectives
Comparative, 84
Demonstrative, 17
Masculine and Feminine, 82
Singular and Plural, 82
Superlative, 85
Comparative Adjectives, 84
Comparing Like Objects, 85
Conditional, 114
Conjunctions, 159
Definite Article, 147
Demonstrative Adjectives, 18
Demonstrative Indefinite Pronouns, 19
Demonstrative Pronouns, 17
Future Tense, 106
Negation, 107
Have you ever..., 59
Ive never..., 59
Imperative, 73
In order to, 72
Independent Pronouns, 7
Infinitive, 49
Intransitive Verbs
Making into Transitive Verbs, 152
Moon Letters, 148
Negation, 57
Nouns
Constructed and Isolated, 11
Feminine, 10
Feminine, how to form, 10
Masculine, 9
Masculine and Feminine, 9
Numbers
1 through 10, 25
100, 200, 300 ... 999, 27
1000, 2000, 3000 ..., 28
11 through 19, 26
20, 30, 40 ... 99, 26
Cardinal, 25
Fractions, 31
Ordinal, 30
Object Pronouns, 62
Participles, 156
illa (), 37
Passive Verbs, 154
Past Tense
Regular Pattern 1 Verbs, 49

Regular Pattern 2 Verbs, 52
Past Tense
Verbs, 49
Past Tense
Irregular Pattern 1 Verbs, 51
Past Tense
Irregular Pattern 2 Verbs, 53
Possession
Pronouns, 8
win/tin (/), 19
Possessive Pronouns, 8
Prepositions, 43
With Pronoun Endings, 117
With Verbs, 117
Present Tense
Regular Verbs, 67
Pronouns
Demonstrative, 17
Indefinite, Demonstrative, 17
Independent, 7
Object, 62
Possessive, 8
Question Words, 64
Sun Letters, 148
Superlative Adjectives, 85
talit Alphabet
tifina, 149
talit Numbers, 151
There is/are, 37
Time, 31
Using One Verb after Another, 72
Verbs
Participles, 156
Pattern 1 past tense form, 49
to be, 16
to have, 42
to need/ have to /should, 99
to please, 96
to remain, 155
to want, 38
to want/like, 101
Using One after Another, 72
win/tin (/), 19
186 talit
Vocabulary Index
Adjectives, 82
Bargaining, 76
Body Parts, 102
Bus, 111
Butagas, 135
Butcher, 92
Buying Produce, 90
Caf, 93
Cities, 12
City bus, 111
Clothing, 77
Colors, 79
Communication, 24
Congratulations, 24
Days of the Week, 47
Directions, 45
Doors and Windows, 140
Drinks, 93
Environment Sector, 123
Family, 39
Finding a House, 126
Food, 35, 88, 89, 92, 93
Fruit, 89
Furniture, 128
God Phrases, 162
Greetings, 5
Health, 103
Health Sector, 124
Help, 23
Hotel, 112
Household Items, 128
Hygiene, 23
Islamic Calendar, 164
Kitchenware, 128
Marital Status, 12
Mealtime, 22
Meat, 92
Money, 34
Months, 47
Nationalities, 12
Nighttime, 23
Numbers
Cardinal, 25
Numerals, 25
Peace Corps, 122
Places in Town, 45
Police Station, 138
Political Harassment, 142
Post Office, 115
Prepositions, 43
Question Words, 64
Restaurant, 94
Seasons, 47
Sexual Harassment, 129
Shopping, 35
Sick, 24, 103
Site Visit, 105
Sleeping, 23
Small Business Development, 125
Spices, 92
Taxi, 110, 131
Thanking, 22
Theft, 138
Time Expressions
Future, 108
Past, 48
Present, 68
Toiletries, 35
Transportation, 24
Travel, 110
tanut Items, 35
Units of Measurement, 90
Vegetables, 88
Verbs, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56
Pattern 1, 50

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Moroccan talHit

Food and Drink..............................................................................................................90

Peace Corps / Morocco 3

Sounds You Already Know

the normal English sound /b/

the normal English sound /d/

the normal English sound /f/

the normal English sound /g/ as in go

the normal English sound /h/ as in hi.

the /zh/ sound represented by the s in pleasure

the normal English sound /k/

the normal English sound /l/

the normal English sound /m/

the normal English sound /n/

the long o sound // as in bone (this transcription character is not used

the normal English sound /p/

the normal English sound /s/

the normal English sound /t/

the long oo sound // as in food

the normal English sound /v/

the normal English sound /w/

the normal English sound /y/

the normal English sound /z/

the normal English sound /sh/ as in she

the long ee sound // as in meet

often, mainly for French words that have entered talit)

Some vowel combinations

the ee you as in see you later

the talit emphatic d

the talit emphatic s

the talit emphatic t

Peace Corps / Morocco 3

like the English h, except pronounce deep in the throat as a loud

This sound will be difficult at first. It can be approximated by

This small character,

Words & Syllables Without Vowels

Why Not Just Write sh?

Peace Corps / Morocco 5

Getting Started with talit

How do people greet each

Greeting expressions and appropriate responses

A: Good afternoon / evening

Whats your name?

ma dak ism? (m)

Nice to meet you.

How are you?

Are you fine?

Good, thanks be to God.

Good, thanks be to God.

labas, nkrt i rbbi

Amina: s-salamu alaykum.

Chris: wa alaykum s-salam.

Amina: ma mnk a tgit?

Chris: samiyyi, ma dam ism?

Amina: isminu Amina, ima kyyi?

Chris: isminu Chris.

Peace Corps / Morocco 7

you (masculine singular)

you (feminine singular)

you (masculine plural)

you (feminine plural)

deep in the throat as a loud raspy

your house (m, s)